Kimi ga yo no toshi no kazu oba shirotae no hama no masago to tare ka shikiken

English Translation

Of my lord's long reign
the number of all the years—
in pure, snowy white
as fine sand upon the beach,
who was it that spread them out?

Meaning

Who could it have been that spread out the years of my lord's reign as the countless grains of white sand upon the beach?

Commentary

Book Seven Felicitation Poems 710

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This poem celebrates the lord's reign through the fine sand of the beach. The speaker asks who could have spread out the countless grains of white sand as the number of years of the lord's reign. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author was one of the compilers of the Kokin wakashū, wrote its kana preface, and wrote the Tosa Diary.
The scene is a celebratory landscape with no season specified, and the place is a beach spread with white sand.
The direct occasion is not recorded.

The first line, "kimi ga yo no," means "of my lord's reign." It refers to the reign or life span of the one being celebrated and is the central phrase of felicitation poetry.
The second line, "toshi no kazu oba," means "the number of years," with "oba" strongly marking the object. The theme of countless years is presented.
The third line, "shirotae no," means "white," describing the whiteness of the sand on the beach.
The fourth line, "hama no masago to," means "as the fine sand of the beach." The countless grains of sand are likened to the years of the reign. 714 in this book also takes up "the fine sand of the beach," linking it with the tracks of cranes to celebrate long duration.
In the last line, "tare ka shikiken," the interrogative particle "ka" is concluded by the attributive form of the conjectural past auxiliary "ken" in kakari-musubi. Asking who laid out the sand across the whole beach as the years of the reign, the conceit turns endless years into a visible landscape.

Author

Ki no Tsurayuki

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other