Ware towaba kamiyo no koto mo kotaenan mukashi o shireru Sumiyoshi no matsu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我問はば神代のことも答へなん
昔を知れる住吉の松

Roma-ji: Ware towaba kamiyo no koto mo kotaenan mukashi o shireru Sumiyoshi no matsu
English Translation: If I were to ask,
answer me of the ages
when the gods held sway,
you who know the days of old,
pine of Sumiyoshi shore.
Meaning: If I should ask you, answer me even about the age of the gods, you pine of Sumiyoshi, who know the days of old.
Commentary: Book Ten Kagura Songs 590

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On making a pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi"
The poem calls on the pine of Sumiyoshi, which knows the past, to answer even about the age of the gods if the poet should ask. The headnote is the same as that of the preceding poem, 589, a poem from a pilgrimage to the Sumiyoshi Shrine. It addresses the pine of Sumiyoshi, which has lived since the age of the gods, as a storyteller who knows the old days. Taking up the preceding poem's wonder at how long the god and pine have grown together, it seeks to ask that pine about the age of the gods.
The author, Priest Egyō, was a monk of the mid-Heian period said to have served as lecturer at the provincial temple of Harima. He is one of the Thirty-Six Later Immortal Poets and is known for his poem "yaemugura" in the Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "ware towaba," means "if I should ask," with "ba" after the irrealis form expressing supposition.
Second line, "kamiyo no koto mo," means "even about the age of the gods," taking up the first and second lines of the preceding poem, 589, "amakudaru arahitogami no."
Third line, "kotaenan," means "please answer," with "nan" a final particle expressing a wish directed at another. The poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "mukashi o shireru," means "who knows the past," with "ru" the attributive form of the auxiliary "ri" of continuing state.
Final line, "Sumiyoshi no matsu," the pine on the shore of Sumiyoshi, ends on a noun as a direct address. It is the same line as the final line of the preceding poem, "Sumiyoshi no matsu."
Author: The Monk Egyo
Source: Shui Wakashu
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