Mumare yori hitsu shi tsukureba yama ni saru hitori inuru ni hito ite imase - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

むまれよりひつしつくれば山にさる
ひとりいぬるにひとゐていませ

Roma-ji: Mumare yori hitsu shi tsukureba yama ni saru hitori inuru ni hito ite imase
English Translation: Since from birth I have
been a maker of chests,
to the hills I go;
as I go off all alone,
pray, take someone along.
Meaning: Since I have been making chests since I was born, I am off to the mountains; as I go alone, please take someone along with me.
Commentary: Book Seven Names of Things 430

Headnote: "Uma, hitsuji, saru, tori, inu, i (Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Boar)"
The poem is understood to say that, having made chests since birth, the speaker is going off to the mountains, and asks, since he goes alone, that someone be sent along. Its chief aim is to hide in order the six remaining signs of the zodiac following the preceding poem, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar, and some points in its meaning remain unclear. The six names in the headnote are the things hidden in the poem.

First line, "mumare yori," means "since I was born," hiding the sign "muma," Horse. Following Rat to Snake in the preceding poem, the twelve signs are completed in two poems.
Second line, "hitsu shi tsukureba," is understood to mean "since I make chests," hiding "hitsuji," Sheep, in "hitsu shi."
Third line, "yama ni saru," means "I go off to the mountains," hiding "saru," Monkey. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "hitori inuru ni," means "since I go alone," hiding "tori," Rooster, and "inu," Dog.
Final line, "hito ite imase," means "please take someone along," hiding "i," Boar, in "i." "Imase" is an honorific imperative.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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