Sakinu ya to shiranu yamaji ni tazuneiru ware o ba hana no shioru narikeri - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

咲きぬやと知らぬ山路に尋ね入る
我をば花のしをるなりけり

Roma-ji: Sakinu ya to shiranu yamaji ni tazuneiru ware o ba hana no shioru narikeri
English Translation: Wondering, are they out?
I go seeking on mountain paths
I've never known before,
and it was the blossoms, then,
that broke boughs to guide me
Meaning: Wondering whether they have bloomed, I make my way along unknown mountain paths, and now I see it was the blossoms themselves that broke the boughs to mark my way.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 60

Headnote: "Composed on the theme "seeking blossoms deep in the mountains""
Composed on the theme "seeking blossoms deep in the mountains," this poem tells how the poet, venturing along unknown mountain paths to see whether the blossoms are out, realizes that it was in fact the blossoms that broke off boughs as trail markers to guide him. Its charm lies in the reversal by which the flowers draw the person in rather than the person seeking the flowers.
The author, "the Regent and Former Minister of the Right," is Kujō Kanezane, son of Chancellor Fujiwara no Tadamichi. After serving as Minister of the Right, he became Regent in 1186. He founded the Kujō house and is also known for his diary, Gyokuyō.

First line, "sakinu ya to": "nu" marks completion and "ya" a question: "wondering if they have bloomed."
Second line, "shiranu yamaji ni": "on unknown mountain paths." 62 in this book says "there is no mountain path I do not know," for the blossoms' sake, forming a pair with this poem.
Third line, "tazuneiru": "seeking my way in," attributive, modifying "ware" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "ware o ba hana no": "o ba" is emphatic, "me, of all people."
Fifth line, "shioru narikeri": "shioru" layers breaking branches to mark a path with making someone droop in distress. "Narikeri" expresses realization: "so that is how it was."
Author: Kujō Kanezane
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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