Oritsureba tabusa ni kegaru tatenagara miyo no hotoke ni hana tatematsuru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

折りつればたぶさに汚る立てながら
三世の仏に花たてまつる

Roma-ji: Oritsureba tabusa ni kegaru tatenagara miyo no hotoke ni hana tatematsuru
English Translation: If I break them off,
my hand will make them impure;
just as they stand here,
to the Buddhas of three worlds
I offer up these flowers
Meaning: If I were to break them off, my hand would defile them; so, just as they stand on the branch, I offer these flowers to the Buddhas of the three worlds.
Commentary: Book Three Spring Poems III 123

Headnote: "At the height of the blossoms, around the Third Month, while traveling along a road."
Since breaking off the flowers would let human hands defile them, the poet offers them, still blooming, to the Buddhas of past, present and future. The idea of dedicating the flowers to the Buddhas without plucking them reveals the pure heart of one who lives by the Buddhist way.
According to the headnote, it was composed on the road at the height of the blossoms, around the Third Month.
The poet, Henjō, was known in lay life as Yoshimine no Munesada. A grandson of Emperor Kanmu and son of Yoshimine no Yasuyo, he served Emperor Ninmyō but took holy orders on the emperor's death and later rose to Archbishop. He was the father of the monk Sosei and is counted among both the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

In the first line, "tsure" is the perfective form of the auxiliary "tsu," and "ba" marks a definite condition: "if I break them off."
In the second line, "tabusa" means wrist or hand, showing the flowers being defiled by the touch of human hands. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "tatenagara," means "just as they stand" on the branch in bloom.
In the fourth line, "miyo" means the three worlds of past, present and future: "to the Buddhas of all worlds."
In the last line, "tatematsuru" means to offer up. Echoing the sound of "tate" in the third line, it conveys the heart that offers the flowers as they bloom.
Author: Henjō
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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