Yorozuyo o kazoemu mono wa Ki no kuni no Chihiro no hama no masago narikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

万代を数へむ物は紀の国の
千尋の浜の真砂なりけり

Roma-ji: Yorozuyo o kazoemu mono wa Ki no kuni no Chihiro no hama no masago narikeri
English Translation: What will serve to count
ten thousand ages to come
is, in the land of Ki,
the fine sand that lies upon
the long beach of Chihiro.
Meaning: The thing with which to count ten thousand ages is, I find, the fine sand of Chihiro Beach in the province of Ki.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Congratulatory Poems 1162

Headnote: "When Lord Tameakira was Governor of Kii, he brought out a little child in his arms and asked for a poem, saying, "Pray for this one, pray for this one""
The poet says that what will serve to count ten thousand ages is the fine sand of Chihiro Beach in the province of Ki. The headnote shows that when Lord Tameakira was Governor of Kii, he came out holding a small child and asked for a poem praying for it, and this was the poem composed. Likening the countless grains of sand on the beach to the years the child will live, and naming Chihiro Beach in Kii, the province he governed, it prays for the child's long life.
The author, written as "Motosuke," is Kiyohara no Motosuke. The father of Sei Shōnagon, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "yorozuyo o," means "ten thousand ages," words celebrating the child's long life.
Second line, "kazoemu mono wa," means "the thing fit for counting," with "mu" an auxiliary of suitability.
Third line, "Ki no kuni no," means "of the province of Kii," naming the province governed by Tameakira in the headnote.
Fourth line, "Chihiro no hama no," means "of Chihiro Beach" in Kii, and "chihiro," a thousand fathoms, calls up both the breadth of the beach and a great length of years.
Final line, "masago narikeri," means "is the fine sand," with "keri" expressing a sigh of realization. It closes by taking the countless grains as the count of the child's years. It shares with the third line of the next poem, 1163, "sazareishi no," the device of counting years by small stones or sand.
Author: Kiyohara no Motosuke
Source: Shui Wakashu
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