Kamikaze ya Isuzu no kawa no miyabashira ikuchiyo sume to tachihajimeken - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

神風や五十鈴の川の宮柱
幾千代すめと立ちはじめけん

Roma-ji: Kamikaze ya Isuzu no kawa no miyabashira ikuchiyo sume to tachihajimeken
English Translation: Divine wind of Ise—
by the Isuzu River
the shrine's great pillars:
"dwell and run clear a thousand ages,"
was that why they first were raised?
Meaning: The shrine pillars by the Isuzu River in the land of the divine wind—were they first raised with the wish that the god dwell there, and the river run clear, for countless ages?
Commentary: Book Nineteen Poems on the Gods 1882

Headnote: "Composed for a hundred-poem sequence at the house of the lay-priest former Regent."
This is the twelfth poem in the sequence concerning the Great Shrine of Ise. It wonders whether the shrine pillars by the Isuzu River were first raised with the wish that the god dwell there, and the river run clear, for countless ages. According to the headnote, it was composed for a hundred-poem sequence at the house of the lay-priest former Regent. Turning his thoughts to the shrine's beginnings, the poet celebrates the everlasting reign of the god.
The author, "Kōtaigōgū no Daibu Toshinari," Master of the Empress Dowager's Household, is Fujiwara no Shunzei. He was the father of Fujiwara no Teika and compiled the Senzai Wakashū.
The lay-priest former Regent is Kujō Kanezane, who had held the office of Regent and later took holy orders. This hundred-poem sequence was held when Kanezane was Minister of the Right.
The last line in the main text reads "tachihajimeken," which does not match "tatehajimemu" in the reading line. The main text is followed here.

The first line, "kamikaze ya," marks the sacred precinct of Ise, the same first line as poems 1871, 1874, and 1876 of this book.
The second line, "Isuzu no kawa no," is the Isuzu River flowing through the Inner Shrine.
The third line, "miyabashira," means the shrine's pillars. It takes up "miyabashira," the first line of poem 1877 of this book.
In the fourth line, "ikuchiyo sume to," "sume" is a pivot word joining "sume," "dwell" (said to the god), and "sume," "run clear" (said to the river). It wishes for permanence through countless ages.
The last line, "tachihajimeken," means "did they first come to stand?" The past conjectural "ken" guesses at the origin of the shrine.
Author: Fujiwara no Shunzei
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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