Akenagara toshi furu koto wa tamakushige mi no itazura ni nareba narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あけながら年ふることは玉くしげ
みのいたづらになればなりけり

Roma-ji: Akenagara toshi furu koto wa tamakushige mi no itazura ni nareba narikeri
English Translation: That in crimson still
I pass the years, the jeweled
comb box opened wide,
is because this self of mine
has come to nothing now
Meaning: That I pass the years still in crimson, like a jeweled comb box left open, is only because I myself have come to nothing.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1124

Headnote: "Reply."
The poet says that he passes the years still in crimson only because, like a comb box empty of use, he himself has come to nothing. Taking up the comb-box imagery of the preceding poem, he answers with self-mockery that his failure to rise lies in his own worthlessness.
It is Yoshifuru's reply to Minamoto no Kintada's poem before it. It is the closing poem of Miscellaneous Poems I: where the opening poem, 1075, began the book celebrating the revival of a royal progress, this one closes it with a lament over a rank that will not rise.
The poet, Ono no Yoshifuru, was a grandson of Ono no Takamura. He won distinction in suppressing the rebellion of Fujiwara no Sumitomo and later rose to Consultant. He was the elder brother of the calligrapher Ono no Michikaze.

The first line, "Akenagara," means "still in crimson," taking up "akenagara" in the fourth line of the preceding poem directly, with "ake" joining the opening of the box and the crimson of the fifth rank.
The second line, "toshi furu koto wa," means "that I pass the years."
The third line, "tamakushige," is the jeweled comb box, serving as a pillow word for "mi" and taking up the first line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "mi no itazura ni," means "myself come to nothing," with "mi" joining the body of the box and his own self.
The last line, "nareba narikeri," means "is because it has become so," with "keri" expressing the wonder of realization. Laying the cause of his failure to rise on himself, it closes the book.
Author: Ono no Yoshifuru
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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