Itōshi ya miru ni namida mo todomarazu oya mo naki ko no haha o tazunuru

いとほしや見るに涙もとどまらず
親もなき子の母を尋ぬる

Roma-ji: Itōshi ya miru ni namida mo todomarazu oya mo naki ko no haha o tazunuru
English Translation: How pitiful it is!
As I watch, my tears as well
will not cease to flow:
a child who has no parents
crying out for its mother.
Meaning: How pitiful! Watching, I cannot stop my tears: a child with no parents left, searching for its mother.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 714

Headnote: "By the roadside a small child was crying bitterly, looking for its mother; when I asked people nearby, they told me its father and mother had died"
By the roadside a small child was weeping for its mother, and people nearby said its parents had died. Seeing the orphan searching for its mother, the poet cannot stop his tears. It is a famous poem showing Sanetomo's compassion. Kamo no Mabuchi marked it with a sign of praise.
The Ruijū text ends the headnote with "composed."

Line 1 means "how pitiful," with a break after the line.
Line 2 means "as I watch, my tears."
Line 3 means "will not stop," with a break after the line.
Line 4 means "of a child with no parents," taking up the death in the preceding poem and the grief of the child left behind.
Line 5 means "seeking its mother," ending in the attributive form to leave lingering feeling; the inversion gives the reason for "pitiful" last.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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