Hana no ki ni arazarame domo sakinikeri furinishi ko no mi naru toki mogana - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

花の木にあらざらめども咲きにけり
ふりにしこのみなる時もがな

Roma-ji: Hana no ki ni arazarame domo sakinikeri furinishi ko no mi naru toki mogana
English Translation: Though it may well not be
a true tree of flowering,
still it has blossomed—
may this old and weathered self
yet someday come to bear fruit.
Meaning: Though it may not be a true flowering tree, it has come into bloom. If only there were a time when this aging self of mine, like the fruit of this old wood, might ripen too.
Commentary: Book Ten Names of Things 445

Headnote: "When the Nijō Empress was called the Consort of the Crown Prince, she had the poet compose on the carved wooden flowers set in a stalk of medo"
This poem says that, though it may not be a true flowering tree, it has blossomed, and wishes that this aging self too might bear fruit. According to the headnote, it was composed when Fujiwara no Takaiko, the Nijō Empress, was called the Consort of the Crown Prince and had the poet write on carved wooden flowers set in a stalk of medo. Through the carved flowers, the poet laments a life unrewarded despite his years and expresses his hope for advancement. Rather than hiding the name of a thing within the lines, it takes the carved flowers themselves as its subject, which makes it unusual in this book. "Medo ni kezuribana" was counted as one of the "Three Trees" of the Kokin Denju and, together with "ogatama no ki" in 431 and "kawanagusa" in 449 of this book, was treated as a secret teaching.
The poet, "Fun'ya no Yasuhide," is Fun'ya no Yasuhide. He served in such posts as Secretary of Mikawa Province and Assistant of the Bureau of Sewing, and he is one of the Six Poetic Immortals.

First line "Hana no ki ni" means "a true flowering tree," reflecting that the carved flowers are artificial.
Second line "arazarame domo" means "though it may not be," with "zarame" combining negation and conjecture.
Third line "sakinikeri" sighs "it has bloomed," capturing the artificial flowers in bloom. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line "furinishi ko no mi" means "this self grown old," and "ko no mi" puns on "the fruit of the tree" and "this self," overlaying the old wood of the carved flowers with the aging poet himself.
Fifth line "naru toki mogana" puns "naru" on fruit "ripening" and a person "rising in the world," with "mogana" expressing a wish.
Author: Fun'ya no Yasuhide
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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