Sakakiba no shimo uchiharai karezu nomi sume to zo inoru kami no mimae ni - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

榊葉の霜うち払ひかれずのみ
住めとぞ祈る神の御前に

Roma-ji: Sakakiba no shimo uchiharai karezu nomi sume to zo inoru kami no mimae ni
English Translation: The sakaki leaves—
brushing all the frost away,
never withering,
never leaving, dwell here long,
I pray before the god.
Meaning: Brushing the frost from the sakaki leaves, I pray before the god: may you never wither, never leave, but dwell here always.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Poems on the Gods 1914

Headnote: "On a screen painting at a certain place, showing a man on horseback passing before a house holding a festival for the gods in the eleventh month."
This is the first of the poems on festivals for the gods painted on screens. Brushing the frost from the sakaki leaves, the poet prays before the god that the household may neither wither nor depart, but dwell on always. According to the headnote, it was composed on a scene painted on a screen at a certain place, showing a man riding on horseback past a house holding a festival for the gods in the eleventh month. Speaking for the people of the pictured house, it prays for the family's continuance.
The author, "Yoshinobu Ason," is Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu. He served as chief priest of the Great Shrine of Ise and, as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, took part in compiling the Gosen Wakashū.
In the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, households also held rites to worship the gods.
The fourth line in the main text reads "sume to zo inoru," which does not match "sume to mo inoru" in the reading line. The main text is followed here.

The first line, "sakakiba no," means "of the sakaki leaves" offered to the god.
The second line, "shimo uchiharai," means "brushing the frost away," marking the winter season of the festival in the eleventh month.
In the third line, "karezu nomi," "karezu" is a pivot word joining "karezu," the sakaki "not withering," and "karezu," people "not departing."
The fourth line, "sume to zo inoru," means "I pray that you dwell here," closing the particle "zo" with the attributive "inoru" in kakari-musubi.
The last line, "kami no mimae ni," means "before the god." The place of the prayer in the fourth line is set afterward, an inversion. The closing poem of the book that follows also tells of a sacred rite painted on a screen.
Author: Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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