Kami matsuru uzuki ni sakeru unohana wa shiroku mo kine ga shiragetaru kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

神祭る卯月に咲ける卯の花は
白くもきねがしらげたるかな

Roma-ji: Kami matsuru uzuki ni sakeru unohana wa shiroku mo kine ga shiragetaru kana
English Translation: In the fourth month when
the gods are worshipped, the blooms
of deutzia flower,
how white, as if the priest's pestle
had pounded them to whiteness.
Meaning: The deutzia blooming in the Fourth Month, when the gods are worshipped, is so white, as if the shrine priest had polished it white with his pestle.
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 91

Headnote: "For the monthly folding screens in the reign of Engi"
The whiteness of deutzia blooming in the Fourth Month, rich in festivals for the gods, is likened to rice pounded white by a shrine priest with a pestle. With "kine" meaning both shrine priest and pestle, the poem wittily links a sacred rite with the pounding of rice. According to the headnote, it accompanied a folding screen depicting the events of each month, made in the Engi era of Emperor Daigo.
The author, written as Mitsune, is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune. One of the compilers of the Kokinshū, he was ranked alongside Ki no Tsurayuki and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "kami matsuru," means "worshipping the gods," drawing on the many rites, beginning with the Kamo Festival, held in the Fourth Month. The next poem, 92, begins with the same "kami matsuru," so that the two poems form a pair.
Second line, "uzuki ni sakeru," means "blooming in the Fourth Month." "Uzuki" (the Fourth Month) and "unohana" (deutzia) echo each other in name.
Third line, "unohana wa," refers to the white deutzia and leads to the comparison of whiteness in the second half.
Fourth line, "shiroku mo kine ga," is a pivot word in which "kine" means both a shrine priest who serves the gods and a pestle for pounding rice. The priest comes from the association with worship, and the pestle from the association with whiteness.
Final line, "shiragetaru kana," means "has pounded it white," with the exclamatory "kana." Whereas the preceding poem likened deutzia to white waves, this poem likens it to the whiteness of polished rice.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Shui Wakashu
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