Chihayaburu Kamigakiyama no sakakiba wa shigure ni iro mo kawarazarikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ちはやぶる神垣山の榊葉は
時雨に色も変はらざりけり

Roma-ji: Chihayaburu Kamigakiyama no sakakiba wa shigure ni iro mo kawarazarikeri
English Translation: On the hill of the gods,
the fierce and mighty ones,
the sakaki leaves
even in the winter showers
do not change their hue at all
Meaning: The leaves of the sacred sakaki on Mount Kamigaki do not change their color, even in the winter showers.
Commentary: Book Eight Winter Poems 457

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that the sakaki leaves on Mount Kamigaki do not change their color even in the showers. Where other trees are dyed by the showers and change color, the evergreen sakaki offered to the gods stays the same, and the poem praises the power and virtue of the gods.
Where the preceding poems sang of leaves changing color in the showers, this poem sings of the sakaki that does not change, so that change and constancy stand as a pair. 475 in this book likewise sings of a pine whose color does not change with the years.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Chihayaburu," is a pillow word modifying "kami," gods.
The second line, "Kamigakiyama no," means "of the mountain fenced for the gods," a sacred mountain.
The third line, "sakakiba wa," means "the leaves of the evergreen sakaki used in Shinto rites."
The fourth line, "shigure ni iro mo," means "in color, even through the showers," assuming the belief that showers dye the leaves.
In the last line, "keri" is an exclamatory auxiliary: "they do not change at all." It shares the conceit of "iro mo kawaranu" in the second line of 475.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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