Umi ni nomi hichitaru matsu no fukamidori ikushio to ka wa shirubekaru ran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

海にのみひちたる松の深緑
いくしほとかは知るべかるらん

Roma-ji: Umi ni nomi hichitaru matsu no fukamidori ikushio to ka wa shirubekaru ran
English Translation: The deep green color
of the pines that are steeped
in the sea alone—
how many tides of dyeing
could anyone ever know?
Meaning: The deep green of the pines steeped only in the sea—how many times they have been dyed, how many tides they have soaked in, who could ever know?
Commentary: Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 457

Headnote: "For a screen celebrating the longevity of the Gojō Principal Handmaid, on a scene of pines steeped in the sea"
The poet says that no one could know how many times the deep green of pines steeped in the sea has been dyed. The headnote shows it was written for a scene of pines steeped in the sea on a screen celebrating the longevity of the Gojō Principal Handmaid. Overlaying the green that deepens with each dyeing with the long years of soaking again and again in the tide, she celebrates the long life and depth of virtue of the one honored. Following the thousand-year pines of the preceding poem, 456, it sings of pines of long life.
The author, Ise, was a woman poet of the early to mid Heian period and a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugikage. She served Onshi, empress of Emperor Uda, and became the mother of Nakatsukasa. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "umi ni nomi," means "only in the sea."
Second line, "hichitaru matsu no," means "of the pines steeped," with "hichi" meaning to soak in water.
Third line, "fukamidori," means "deep green," and the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "ikushio to ka wa," means "how many dyeings." "Ikushio" is a pivot word joining "ikushio," the number of times cloth is dipped in dye, and "shio," the tide of the sea. "Ka wa" is a particle of rhetorical question.
Final line, "shirubekaru ran," means "could one know—no, one could not," resolving "ka wa" with the attributive "ran." It overlays long life on depths beyond measure.
Author: Ise
Source: Shui Wakashu
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