Toshi fureba waga kurokami mo Shirakawa no mizuhakumu made oinikeru kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

年経れば我が黒髪もしら河の
みづはくむまで老いにけるかな

Roma-ji: Toshi fureba waga kurokami mo Shirakawa no mizuhakumu made oinikeru kana
English Translation: The years have passed by,
and this black hair of mine turns
white as White River—
drawing water, I have grown
so old my new teeth grow in
Meaning: As the years have passed, even my black hair has turned white as the White River, and I who draw its water have grown so old that new teeth sprout again.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems III 1219

Headnote: "When she was living at a place called Shirakawa in Tsukushi, Lord Fujiwara no Okinori, Vice Governor-General of Dazaifu, passing that way, stopped in to ask for a drink of water, so she brought water out and composed this. She was a woman famed there for her taste for refinement."
The poet says that with the passing years her black hair has turned white, and she who draws the water of the White River has grown so old that her teeth grow anew. Joining "shira," white, to the name Shirakawa, and "mizu wa kumu," drawing water, to "mizuhagumu," growing new teeth in old age, a celebrated woman of taste speaks wittily of her own old age.
According to the headnote, while she lived at Shirakawa in Tsukushi, Fujiwara no Okinori, Vice Governor-General of Dazaifu, passed by and stopped to ask for water, so she brought some out and composed this. The headnote adds that she was famed there as a woman fond of refinement.
The poet, given in the text as "Higaki no Ouna," is the Old Woman of Higaki. A legendary old woman of Tsukushi, she is said to have once been a renowned courtesan.
The story also appears in the Tales of Yamato, as an episode of Higaki no Go and Fujiwara no Okinori.

The first line, "Toshi fureba," means "as the years have passed," with "ba" giving the cause.
The second line, "waga kurokami mo," means "even my black hair," contrasting in color with "shira" in the third line. It shares the words "waga kurokami" with the fourth line of 1240 of this book.
The third line, "Shirakawa no," is a pivot word joining the place name Shirakawa with "shira," the whiteness of hair.
The fourth line, "mizuhakumu made," is a pivot word joining "mizu wa kumu," drawing water, with "mizuhagumu," growing new teeth in great age: I who draw water, until I am that old.
The last line, "oinikeru kana," means "have I grown old," with "kana" exclamatory.
Author: Higaki no Ouna
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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