Haru no no no wakana naranedo kimi ga tame toshi no kazu o mo tsuman to zo omou - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春の野の若菜ならねど君がため
年の数をもつまんとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Haru no no no wakana naranedo kimi ga tame toshi no kazu o mo tsuman to zo omou
English Translation: Though they are not the
young greens of the fields in spring,
for your sake I mean
to gather up the count of
your years and heap them higher.
Meaning: Though they are not the young greens of the spring fields, for your sake I mean to gather and pile up the number of your years.
Commentary: Book Five Celebration Poems 285

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "For a folding screen when Kiyotsura, Minister of Popular Affairs, held a celebration for the Gojō Principal Handmaid"
As one picks young greens in the spring fields, the poet means to pick and pile up the number of years for her honoree. Drawing on the spring custom of gathering young greens to pray for long life, she wishes the years to be heaped ever higher. According to the headnote, like the preceding poem it was written for a folding screen at the celebration for the Gojō Principal Handmaid.
Ise was a woman poet of the early to mid-Heian period and a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage. She served Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda, and became the mother of Nakatsukasa. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "haru no no no," means "of the fields in spring."
Second line, "wakana naranedo," means "though they are not young greens," young greens being picked on the Day of the Rat in the New Year and eaten to pray for long life.
Third line, "kimi ga tame," means "for your sake," the same as the third line of 283 in this book.
Fourth line, "toshi no kazu o mo," means "even the number of years." 296 in this book also sings of "the number of years," likening it to the sand of the beach.
Final line, "tsuman to zo omou," plays on "tsumu" as picking young greens and piling up years, with "zo" resolved by the attributive "omou."
Author: Ise
Source: Shui Wakashu
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