Ika nareba haru o kasanete mitsuredomo yae ni nomi saku yamabuki no hana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いかなれば春を重ねて見つれども
八重にのみ咲く山吹の花

Roma-ji: Ika nareba haru o kasanete mitsuredomo yae ni nomi saku yamabuki no hana
English Translation: How can it be so?
Though spring upon spring I've watched,
layering the years,
only eightfold do they bloom,
the kerria blossoms
Meaning: How can it be? Though I have watched them through spring after spring, layering the years, the kerria blossoms still bloom only eightfold.
Commentary: Book Two Spring Poems II 116

Headnote: "Composed on kerria"
Composed on the topic of "kerria." Though he has watched them through spring after spring, the poet wonders why the kerria always blooms only eightfold. Linking the "layering" of springs with the layered petals of the double-flowered kerria, he playfully reasons that the layers should increase as the springs accumulate.
The author, "Koremune no Hirokoto," was the son of Koremune no Motokoto, Governor of Hyūga. Born into a family of officials of the Dazaifu, he later became Governor of Chikugo. He served Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa as a master of imayō songs, took part in Shun'e's Karin'en, and is also known for compiling the private anthology Kotoba-shū.

First line, "ika nareba": "for what reason," posing a question.
Second line, "haru o kasanete": "layering spring upon spring," over many years. The "layering" echoes the "eightfold" of the fourth line.
Third line, "mitsuredomo": "tsure" is the realized form of the perfective "tsu" and "domo" concessive: "though I have watched them."
Fourth line, "yae ni nomi saku": "nomi" limits: "they bloom only eightfold." "Ikue ka mieman" in 111 and "yae yamabuki" in 113 of this book also speak of the kerria's many layers.
Fifth line, "yamabuki no hana": ends on a noun, the same final line as 111 in this book. Without answering the opening "why," it closes by simply presenting the flower.
Author: Koremune no Hirokoto
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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