Kimi ga yo ni Abukumagawa no umoregi mo kōri no shita ni haru o machikeri - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君が代にあふくま川の埋もれ木も
氷の下に春を待ちけり

Roma-ji: Kimi ga yo ni Abukumagawa no umoregi mo kōri no shita ni haru o machikeri
English Translation: In my lord's great reign,
even the buried wood deep
in the Abukuma,
beneath the ice, as I see,
has waited for the spring.
Meaning: Even the buried wood in the Abukuma River, whose name speaks of meeting my lord's reign, has been waiting beneath the ice for spring.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1579

Headnote: "At the place on the sliding doors of the Saishō Shitennō-in where the Abukuma River was painted."
This is the third poem of the sequence on winter. Even the buried wood in the Abukuma River, whose name speaks of meeting the sovereign's reign, has been waiting beneath the ice for spring. According to the headnote, it was inscribed where the Abukuma River was painted on the sliding doors of the Saishō Shitennō-in.
The author, "Ietaka Ason," was the son of Fujiwara no Mitsutaka. He was one of the compilers of the Shin Kokinshū.
The Saishō Shitennō-in was a temple built by vow of Retired Emperor Go-Toba at Shirakawa in the capital in Jōgen 1 (1207); its sliding doors were painted with famous places of the provinces, with poems added. The Abukuma River is a famous place in Michinoku.

The first line, "kimi ga yo ni," means "in my lord's reign." It is a phrase celebrating the reign of Retired Emperor Go-Toba.
In the second line, "Abukumagawa no," "Abukuma" plays on "au," to meet the reign, and the Abukuma River.
The third line, "umoregi mo," refers to wood long buried under water or earth, likening a self buried and unrecognized in the world.
The fourth line, "kōri no shita ni," takes up the ice of the mountain stream and the water's edge in the two preceding poems, presenting a river in winter.
The last line, "haru o machikeri," closes with "keri," the exclamation of realization. Even one like buried wood has been waiting for the spring of the reign's grace, entrusting to the winter ice a hope for spring.
Author: Fujiwara no Ietaka
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Asagoto ni migiwa no kōri fumiwakete kimi ni tsukauru michi zo kashikoki
Next Poem: Ato mo naku yuki furusato wa arenikeri izure mukashi no kakine naruran