Negikakuru Hie no yashiro no yūdasuki kusa no kakiha mo koto yamete kike - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

祈ぎかくる日吉の社の木綿襷
草のかき葉も言止めて聞け

Roma-ji: Negikakuru Hie no yashiro no yūdasuki kusa no kakiha mo koto yamete kike
English Translation: I bind my prayer,
with the sacred cord, at the shrine
of Hie's holy ground;
even blades of grass, be still,
hush your voices now and hear!
Meaning: Binding on the sacred cord at the shrine of Hie, I offer my prayer: even you blades of grass, hush your words and listen!
Commentary: Book Ten Kagura Songs 593

Headnote: "Composed at the Hie Shrine"
The poem, offered with the sacred cord bound on at the Hie Shrine, bids even the blades of grass hush and listen to the prayer. The headnote shows it was composed at the Hie Shrine. It is a solemn prayer commanding even grasses and trees to fall still and listen. The fourth line is said to echo the expression in the Great Purification prayer, in which even the blades of grass fall silent.
The author, Jitsuin, was a monk of the Tendai school who studied on Mount Hiei and rose to Senior Bishop. The Hie Shrine stands at the foot of Mount Hiei and was revered as the guardian shrine of Enryakuji.
The first line of 588 also has "yūdasuki," sharing the word that marks one serving the gods.

First line, "negikakuru," means "binding on my prayer," with "negu" meaning to pray to the gods.
Second line, "Hie no yashiro no," means "of the Hie Shrine" in Ōmi Province.
Third line, "yūdasuki," is the sacred cord worn by those serving in rites, linked with "kakuru" in the first line. It is the same word as the first line of 588, "yūdasuki."
Fourth line, "kusa no kakiha mo," means "even the blades of grass," said to echo the Great Purification prayer.
Final line, "koto yamete kike," means "hush your words and listen," ending in the imperative.
Author: Jitsuin
Source: Shui Wakashu
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