Ikade ka no toshikiri mo senu tane mogana aretaru yado ni uete mirubeku - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いかでかの年切りもせぬ種もがな
荒れたる宿に植ゑて見るべく

Roma-ji: Ikade ka no toshikiri mo senu tane mogana aretaru yado ni uete mirubeku
English Translation: How I long to find
a seed that never fails a year
in bearing flowers,
to plant within my dwelling,
now so desolate, and see
Meaning: How I wish I had that seed which never skips a year, so that I might plant it at my desolate house and watch it grow.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1109

Headnote: "In the spring of the year after the Sanjō Minister of the Right died, hearing that ministers were to be appointed, she sent this to the Princess who had been Ise Priestess."
The poet wishes for that seed which never skips a year, so that she might plant it at her desolate house and watch it grow. Into the wish to plant a seed that flowers without fail in the house left forlorn by her father's death, she puts her hope that the family will prosper again.
According to the headnote, in the spring of the year after the Sanjō Minister of the Right, Fujiwara no Sadakata, died, she heard that ministers were to be appointed and sent this to the princess who had been Ise Priestess. The princess's reply follows in the next poem, forming an exchange.
The poet, "the consort, his daughter," is Fujiwara no Yoshiko. A daughter of the Sanjō Minister of the Right, Fujiwara no Sadakata, she became a consort of Emperor Daigo.

The first line, "Ikade ka no," means "somehow, that," with "ikade" strengthening the wish and "ka no" pointing to the seed of the third line.
The second line, "toshikiri mo senu," means "that never skips a year," bearing flowers and fruit every year without fail. The word "toshikiri" also appears in 1077 of this book, and the third line of the next poem takes it up.
The third line, "tane mogana," means "if only I had the seed," with "mogana" expressing a wish. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "aretaru yado ni," means "at my desolate house," the house left forlorn by her father's death.
The last line, "uete mirubeku," means "so that I might plant it and watch."
Author: Fujiwara no Yoshiko
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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