Ne no hi suru nobe ni komatsu no nakariseba chiyo no tameshi ni nani o hikamashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

子の日する野辺に小松のなかりせば
千代のためしに何をひかまし

Roma-ji: Ne no hi suru nobe ni komatsu no nakariseba chiyo no tameshi ni nani o hikamashi
English Translation: If on the meadows
where we spend the Day of the Rat
no small pines were found,
as a sign of a thousand years
what then would we pull and cite?
Meaning: If there were no small pines in the fields where we celebrate the Day of the Rat, what would we pull up as our token of a thousand years?
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 23

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem sings of the custom of pulling up small pines in the fields on the Day of the Rat in the first month, and stresses their importance through a counterfactual: if there were no small pines, what would one pull as an example of thousand-year longevity? It is a witty poem overlaying the act of pulling pines with citing an example.
The author, written as Tadamine, is Mibu no Tadamine. One of the compilers of the Kokinshū, he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and was the father of Mibu no Tadami.

First line, "ne no hi suru," refers to the outing on the first Day of the Rat in the new year, when people went to the fields to pull up small pines and pick greens; it takes up the first Rat day of the preceding poem.
Second line, "nobe ni komatsu no," names the small pines pulled up roots and all to celebrate long life.
Third line, "nakariseba," is a counterfactual condition answered by "mashi" in the final line.
Fourth line, "chiyo no tameshi ni," means "as a model of a thousand years," drawing on the pine's longevity.
Final line, "nani o hikamashi," is a pivot word combining "pulling up" a pine and "citing" an example, closing with the counterfactual "mashi."
Author: Mibu no Tadamine
Source: Shui Wakashu
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