Ika ni shite koromo no tama o shirinuramu omoi mo kakenu hito mo aru yo ni - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いかにして衣の玉を知りぬらむ
思ひもかけぬ人もある世に

Roma-ji: Ika ni shite koromo no tama o shirinuramu omoi mo kakenu hito mo aru yo ni
English Translation: How did you come to
knowledge of the jewel sewn
within your own robe,
in a world where there are those
who never think of such things
Meaning: How did you come to know of the jewel in your robe, in a world where there are those who never even give it a thought?
Commentary: Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 640

How did the person come to know of the jewel in the robe, in a world where there are those who never give it a thought? Drawing on the parable of the jewel in the robe in the Lotus Sutra's chapter on the prophecy for the five hundred disciples, the poem praises one who has recognized the Buddha nature within, setting that person against those who remain unaware.
Poem 634 in this book also sings of the parable of the jewel in the robe, saying that without the mountain wind blowing back the robe the jewel could not have been seen. This poem praises one who has noticed it.
The author, Eien, was a son of Fujiwara no Nagasuke, Senior Assistant Minister of the Treasury, and as a monk of Kōfukuji rose to Provisional Archbishop. Famed for his poem on the cuckoo, he was called the Archbishop of the First Song.

First line, 'ika ni shite', means how, answering ramu in the third line to form a question.
Second line, 'koromo no tama o', means the jewel in the robe, drawing on the parable. It echoes koromo no ura no in the fourth line of 634 in this book.
Third line, 'shirinuramu', means did you come to know, the perfective nu with the present conjectural ramu; the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, 'omoi mo kakenu', means never giving a thought, tied to kakeru, sewing the jewel into the robe. It echoes kokoro o kakenu in the fourth and final lines of the preceding poem, 639.
Final line, 'hito mo aru yo ni', means in a world where there are such people, inverted with the lines before.
Author: Yoen
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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