Kimi ga yo ni awazu wa nani o tama no o no nagaku to made wa oshimareshi mi o - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君が代にあはずは何を玉の緒の
長くとまでは惜しまれし身を

Roma-ji: Kimi ga yo ni awazu wa nani o tama no o no nagaku to made wa oshimareshi mi o
English Translation: Had I not been born
to meet the reign of my lord,
for what would I have
wished my thread of life to last
and held this self so dear?
Meaning: Had I not lived to see my lord's reign, for what would I have wished my life to be long and held this self so dear?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1759

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the feeling of personal grievance, at the Poetry Office."
This is the third of the sequence composed at the Poetry Office on personal grievance. Had he not lived to meet his lord's reign, for what would he have wished his life to be long? He tells of his joy at living in the reign of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and serving in the Poetry Office, and of how that joy makes him cherish his life.
The author, "Teika Ason," is Fujiwara no Teika. The son of Fujiwara no Shunzei, he was one of the compilers of the Shin Kokinshū and later compiled the Shin Chokusenshū alone.
The Poetry Office was established by Retired Emperor Go-Toba at his palace in Kennin 1 for the compilation of the Shin Kokinshū.

The first line, "kimi ga yo ni," means "in my lord's reign," referring to the rule of Retired Emperor Go-Toba.
The second line, "awazu wa nani o," means "had I not met it, for what." "Zu wa" marks a negative supposition.
The third line, "tama no o no," means life. Through the "cord" in the phrase, it leads to "long" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "nagaku to made wa," means "even so far as to wish it long," the wish for the thread of life to last.
The last line, "oshimareshi mi o," means "this self I held dear." "Re" is spontaneous, "shi" the attributive of the past "ki," and "o" adds a sigh. He praises the reign, saying it was the joy of living in his lord's age that made him cherish life.
Author: Fujiwara no Teika
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Sode ni oku tsuyu o ba tsuyu to shinobu tomo nareyuku tsuki ya iro o shiru ramu
Next Poem: Ōkata no aki no nezame no nagaki yo mo kimi o zo inoru mi o omou tote