Isonokami furu no kamusugi kamubinishi ware ya sarasara koi ni ainikeru

石上布留の神杉神びにし
我れやさらさら恋にあひにける

Roma-ji: Isonokami furu no kamusugi kamubinishi ware ya sarasara koi ni ainikeru
English Translation: Isonokami,
at Furu the sacred cedar,
grown old and godly—
I, like it, now once again
have I met with love at last?
Meaning: Like the sacred cedar at Furu in Isonokami, I have grown old and venerable—and yet, of all things, have I now met with love again?
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Love Poems 1927

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems in Dialogue"
This poem expresses surprise and bewilderment at meeting love again at an age like the sacred cedar of Furu in Isonokami, and it forms an exchange with the preceding poem, 1926. To the other's words that rumor would not matter, it answers bashfully about being drawn into love at an advanced age. The left note says that this poem is not a spring poem, but it is placed here because it answers the preceding poem.

The first line, "Isonokami," is a place in Yamato and also a pillow word for "Furu."
The second line, "the sacred cedar of Furu," names the holy cedar of Furu where Isonokami Shrine stands, an emblem of ancient sanctity.
In the third line, "kamubinishi," grown venerable and old, "ni" marks completion and "shi" is the attributive of the past "ki." The upper lines figure the poet's own age.
In the fourth line, "ware ya sarasara," "ya" is an exclamatory-interrogative particle and "sarasara" means anew, at this late date.
In the last line, "koi ni ainikeru," "keru" answers the "ya" of the fourth line, closing with surprise at meeting love so late.
Source: Manyoshu
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