Sakakiba no haru sasu eda no amata areba togamuru kami mo araji to zo omou - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

榊葉の春さす枝のあまたあれば
とがむる神もあらじとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Sakakiba no haru sasu eda no amata areba togamuru kami mo araji to zo omou
English Translation: The sakaki leaves
put forth branches in the spring,
so many of them;
that no god would find fault,
so I think, if I refuse.
Meaning: Just as the sakaki puts forth so many branches in spring, you have so many loves; so I think no god would blame me if I do not yield.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 658

Headnote: "Reply"
The poem retorts that just as the sakaki puts forth many branches in spring, the man has many loves, so no god would blame her. The headnote shows it is the reply to the preceding poem, 657. Taking up the sakaki of that poem's headnote and the "god" of its verse, it likens the many branches to the many women he courts, lightly turning aside a suit that invoked the god.

First line, "sakakiba no," means "of the sakaki leaves," taking up the sakaki in the headnote of the preceding poem, 657.
Second line, "haru sasu eda no," means "of the branches that put forth in spring," with "sasu" understood as branches or shoots extending.
Third line, "amata areba," means "since there are many," likening them to the many women he courts.
Fourth line, "togamuru kami mo," means "a god who would find fault," taking up the second line of the preceding poem, "kami mo shiruramu."
Final line, "araji to zo omou," means "there will be none, I think," with "ji" an auxiliary of negative conjecture and the binding particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "omou."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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