Oisomuru ne yori zo shiruki fuetake no sue no yo nagaku naran mono to wa - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

生ひ初むるねよりぞしるき笛竹の
すゑのよ長くならんものとは

Roma-ji: Oisomuru ne yori zo shiruki fuetake no sue no yo nagaku naran mono to wa
English Translation: From the root, the note
of the bamboo just sprouting,
it is plain to see:
this flute bamboo's ages, joints,
will stretch long into the future.
Meaning: From the roots of the bamboo just beginning to grow, and from the notes of the flute, it is plain that, like the long joints of this flute bamboo, the ages to come will stretch on long.
Commentary: Book Five Celebration Poems 297

Headnote: "In the Tenryaku era, when Lord Seishin was to present a flute to the emperor and had me compose a poem"
The poet says that from the roots of the flute bamboo just beginning to grow, and from the flute's notes, it is plain that the ages to come will stretch on long. Playing on the bamboo's root and the flute's note, the bamboo's joints and the ages of the world, he celebrates the long continuance of the reign through the gift of a flute. According to the headnote, it was composed in the Tenryaku era of Emperor Murakami, when Lord Seishin, that is, Fujiwara no Saneyori, was to present a flute to the emperor and had the poet write a poem.
The author, written as Yoshinobu, is Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu. From the Ōnakatomi family, who served as chief priests of the Ise Shrine, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū and in reading the Man'yōshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "oisomuru," means "just beginning to grow."
Second line, "ne yori zo shiruki," plays on "ne" as the bamboo's root and the flute's note, meaning "it is plain from the root and from the note." The particle "zo" is resolved by the attributive "shiruki." The poem pauses here, and by inversion what is plain is given afterward.
Third line, "fuetake no," means "of the flute bamboo."
Fourth line, "sue no yo nagaku," plays on "yo" as the ages to come and as the spaces between bamboo joints. Like "the sue no yo of pine and bamboo" in 275 of this book, it celebrates the length of the future through bamboo.
Final line, "naran mono to wa," means "that it will come to be."
Author: Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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