Inori kuru Mikami no yama no kai shi areba chitose no kage ni kakute tsukaen - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

祈り来る三上の山のかひしあれば
千歳の影にかくて仕へん

Roma-ji: Inori kuru Mikami no yama no kai shi areba chitose no kage ni kakute tsukaen
English Translation: Since there is a worth
in Mikami's mountain gorge
where we've come to pray,
in the shade of a thousand years
I shall serve you thus always.
Meaning: Since the prayers we have offered on Mount Mikami have borne fruit, I will serve in this way under the shelter of a thousand years.
Commentary: Book Ten Kagura Songs 611

Headnote: "Fūzoku songs for the Great Thanksgiving Festival of the first year of Tenroku: Mount Mikami"
The poem says that since the prayers long offered on Mount Mikami have borne fruit, the poet will serve in this way under the sovereign's shelter of a thousand years. Pivoting "kai," the valley of Mount Mikami, on "kai," worth, it expresses joy that prayers have been answered with a new reign, and a resolve to serve long in it. Poems 601 to 603, for the festival of the first year of Anna, also take Mount Mikami as their topic, so the same mountain is sung at both festivals.
The headnote, "Fūzoku songs for the Great Thanksgiving Festival of the first year of Tenroku," shows that the poem was offered at the Great Thanksgiving Festival held in the first year of Tenroku upon the accession of Emperor En'yū. From here to 617, as in the earlier sequence of the first year of Anna, poems on place names follow, and some of the same names are sung at both festivals.
The author, written as "Yoshinobu," is Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu. He served as chief priest of the Ise Shrine and, as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, took part in compiling the Gosenshū. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "inori kuru," means "where we have come praying."
Second line, "Mikami no yama no," means "of Mount Mikami" in Ōmi, the place name given as the topic. Like the second lines of 601 to 603, it sings of Mount Mikami.
Third line, "kai shi areba," is a pivot word: "kai" means a mountain "valley" and "worth," with "shi" an emphatic particle. It uses the same pivot as the third line of 598, "kai ari to."
Fourth line, "chitose no kage ni," means "under the shelter of a thousand years," with "kage" meaning the sovereign's favor.
Final line, "kakute tsukaen," means "I will serve in this way," with "n" an auxiliary of intention.
Author: Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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