Yorozuyo no hajime to kyō o inori okite ima yukusue wa kami zo shiru ran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

万代の始めと今日を祈りおきて
今行末は神ぞ知るらん

Roma-ji: Yorozuyo no hajime to kyō o inori okite ima yukusue wa kami zo shiru ran
English Translation: As the first of all
the myriad ages to come
I prayed for today;
now what lies in years ahead
the gods alone surely know.
Meaning: I have offered my prayers, making today the beginning of ten thousand ages; what lies ahead is now known to the gods alone.
Commentary: Book Five Celebration Poems 263

Headnote: "In the Tenryaku era, when the High Priestess went down to Ise, as I was about to return after serving as the envoy escorting her"
The poem was composed as the poet, having accompanied the High Priestess on her journey to Ise as the escorting envoy, was about to return to the capital. Having prayed that this day be the beginning of ten thousand ages for the Priestess, he leaves what follows to the gods, expressing both reverent trust and relief. According to the headnote, it was written in the Tenryaku era of Emperor Murakami, when the High Priestess went down to Ise and the poet, having escorted her there, was about to return. Placed at the head of the book of celebration poems, it opens the whole book in a spirit of blessing with the words "the beginning of ten thousand ages."
The author, called Middle Counselor Asatada, is Fujiwara no Asatada. A son of Fujiwara no Sadakata, the Sanjō Minister of the Right, he rose to Middle Counselor. He was also known as a master of the shō mouth organ and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "yorozuyo no," means "of ten thousand ages," that is, of endlessly long years. Together with "the beginning of the line of succession through a thousand ages" in 266 and "the beginning of a thousand ages" in 289 of this book, it celebrates the start of a long reign.
Second line, "hajime to kyō o," means "taking today as the beginning," placing the day the Priestess goes down to Ise as the start of a service lasting ten thousand ages.
Third line, "inori okite," means "having prayed beforehand," with "oku" adding the sense of doing something in advance. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "ima yukusue wa," means "what lies ahead, now."
Final line, "kami zo shiru ran," means "the gods surely know," with the emphatic particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "ran." It shares with the final line of 293 in this book, "kami no manimani," the heart that entrusts its prayer to the gods. "The beginning of ten thousand ages" at the head of the book answers "the end of the great rock" in 300 at its close, beginning and end corresponding.
Author: Fujiwara no Asatada
Source: Shui Wakashu
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