Inariyama yashiro no kazu o hito towaba tsurenaki hito o mitsu to kotaemu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

稲荷山社の数を人問はば
つれなき人をみつと答へむ

Roma-ji: Inariyama yashiro no kazu o hito towaba tsurenaki hito o mitsu to kotaemu
English Translation: If someone should ask
how many shrines there are
on Inari Hill,
"Three," I'll say: "I saw her there,
the one who is so cold."
Meaning: If anyone asks how many shrines stand on Inari Hill, I will answer "three": I saw the one who is so cold to me.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Love Poems 1211

Headnote: "When he met a woman on a pilgrimage to Inari and spoke to her, but she gave no answer"
The poet says that if anyone asks the number of shrines on Inari Hill, he will answer "three," for he saw the cold one. The headnote shows he composed it when he spoke to a woman he met on a pilgrimage to Inari and she gave no reply. Pivoting on the three shrines of Inari, upper, middle and lower, and "mitsu," I saw, he lightly entrusts his meeting with a woman who would not answer to a reply about the number of shrines.
The author, Taira no Sadafun, also called Heichū, is known as a great lover and is taken to be the hero of the Heichū Monogatari. He is one of the Thirty-Six Later Immortal Poets.

First line, "Inariyama," is Inari Hill in Yamashiro, where the shrines of the Inari god stand. Together with 1267 and 1268 in this book, it is a love poem tied to a pilgrimage to Inari.
Second line, "yashiro no kazu o," means "the number of shrines," for Inari is made up of three shrines, upper, middle and lower.
Third line, "hito towaba," means "if someone asks," with "ba" after the irrealis form expressing supposition.
Fourth line, "tsurenaki hito o," means "the cold-hearted one," the woman of the headnote who gave no answer.
Final line, "mitsu to kotaemu," is a pivot word: "mitsu" means "three," the number of shrines, and "I saw" her. "Mu" is an auxiliary of intention.
Author: Taira no Sadafun
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Otomego ga sode furu yama no mizugaki no hisashiki yo yori omoisometeki
Next Poem: Mishimae no Tamae no ashi o shimeshi yori ono ga to zo omou imada karanedo