Mukashi yori iishikinikeru koto nareba warera wa ikaga ima wa sadamen - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

昔より言ひしきにける事なれば
我らはいかが今は定めん

Roma-ji: Mukashi yori iishikinikeru koto nareba warera wa ikaga ima wa sadamen
English Translation: From the days of old
it has been the word men used,
and that being so,
how could we, at this late day,
settle anything anew?
Meaning: Since it is what people have always said from the days of old, how could we, at this late day, decide it anew?
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 519

Headnote: "In answer"
The poet answers that since it has been said this way since ancient times, how could we now decide it otherwise. Responding to Korehira's question in the preceding poem, 518, he does not reason it out but lightly sidesteps it, as if feigning innocence, saying that words are simply the custom of long ago. It is a witty answer that deftly parries a hard question about language.
The author, written as "Mitsune," is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune. One of the compilers of the Kokinshū, he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "mukashi yori," means "from long ago."
Second line, "iishikinikeru," means "has been said all along," with "shiki" from "shiku," adding the sense of continuing, "ni" perfective and "keru" a past auxiliary.
Third line, "koto nareba," means "since it is so," with "ba" after the perfective form expressing cause.
Fourth line, "warera wa ikaga," means "how could we," with "ikaga" rhetorical and answering "n" in the final line.
Final line, "ima wa sadamen," means "decide it anew at this late day." Together with the fourth line, "ikaga ima wa sadamen" uses the same phrasing as the fourth line of 512 in this book, "ikaga sadamemu," and the answers of indecision echo each other within the arrangement.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Shui Wakashu
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