Waga tanomu nana no yashiro no yūdasuki kakete mo mutsu no michi ni kaesu na - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我が頼む七の社の木綿襷
かけても六つの道に返すな

Roma-ji: Waga tanomu nana no yashiro no yūdasuki kakete mo mutsu no michi ni kaesu na
English Translation: In whom I place my trust,
the Seven Shrines—like sacred cords
of bark I hang on,
never, ever send me back
to the Six Paths of rebirth.
Meaning: Gods of the Seven Shrines in whom I trust, as I hang on you like a sacred cord of bark, never send me back to wander the Six Paths of rebirth.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Poems on the Gods 1902

Headnote: "On the topic of personal grievances."
This is the second poem in the sequence on the Hiyoshi Shrine. It prays to the gods of the Seven Shrines of Hiyoshi, in whom the poet trusts, never to send him back to the deluded realms of the Six Paths. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic of jukkai, expressing one's inner thoughts. It is an earnest prayer entrusting salvation in the next life to the gods.
No author is named in the original, and the poem is treated as continuing from the author of the preceding poem, Jien.
The Seven Shrines are the seven principal shrines of Hiyoshi, known as the Seven Shrines of Hiyoshi. The Six Paths are the six realms through which beings pass in the cycle of birth and death: hell, hungry ghosts, animals, fighting demons, humans, and heavenly beings.

The first line, "waga tanomu," means "in whom I trust."
The second line, "nana no yashiro no," means "of the Seven Shrines" of Hiyoshi. From the Second Shrine in the preceding poem, it widens to all seven.
The third line, "yūdasuki," is the bark-cloth cord worn by those serving in sacred rites, leading to "kakete" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "kakete mo," is a pivot word joining "kakete," "hanging" the cord, and "kakete mo," "ever" in the sense of "never."
The last line, "mutsu no michi ni kaesu na," means "do not send me back to the Six Paths," closing with the prohibitive particle "na." Setting "six" against the "seven" of the second line, the contrast of numbers opposes the world of the gods to the world of delusion.
Author: Jien
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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