Kyō kureba asa no tachie ni yū kakete natsu minazuki no misogi o zo suru - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今日来れば麻の立ち枝に木綿かけて
夏みな月の禊をぞする

Roma-ji: Kyō kureba asa no tachie ni yū kakete natsu minazuki no misogi o zo suru
English Translation: Now this day has come,
I hang white mulberry cords
on standing hemp boughs
and perform the purifying rite
as summer ends in Minazuki
Meaning: Now that this day has come, I hang white mulberry cords on standing branches of hemp and perform the purification of Minazuki, when summer runs out.
Commentary: Book Three Summer Poems 223

Headnote: "Composed on the Sixth Month Purification when presenting a hundred-poem sequence"
Composed on "the Sixth Month Purification" for a hundred-poem sequence presented to Retired Emperor Sutoku. Now that the last day of Minazuki, the day of the purification, has come, the poet hangs white mulberry cords on standing branches of hemp and performs the purification that ends the summer. Echoing in "minazuki" both the name of the Sixth Month and summer coming "mina," wholly, to an end, the poem depicts the purification rite that marks summer's close. Poems on the Sixth Month Purification begin here.
The author, "Fujiwara no Suemichi Ason," was the son of Provisional Major Counselor Fujiwara no Munemichi and younger brother of Chancellor Fujiwara no Koremichi. He was also renowned as a master of the biwa and koto, and was one of the poets of Retired Emperor Sutoku's Kyūan Hundred-Poem Sequence.
The Sixth Month Purification, nagoshi no harae, was held on the last day of the Sixth Month to cleanse the sins and defilements of the past half-year. This poem and the next two, through the final poem, 225, form a sequence on the purification that closes the book of summer.

First line, "kyō kureba": "now that today has come," the day of the purification.
Second line, "asa no tachie ni": "tachie" are straight, upright branches, here hemp branches used in the rite.
Third line, "yū kakete": "yū" is white thread made from paper-mulberry bark fiber, used in Shinto rites.
Fourth line, "natsu minazuki no": "minazuki" is a pivot word for Minazuki, the Sixth Month, and summer ending "mina," entirely.
Fifth line, "misogi o zo suru": "zo" closes with the attributive "suru." Poems 224 and 225 of this book also speak of the purification.
Author: Fujiwara no Suemichi
Source: Senzai Wakashu
Prev Poem: Iwama yori ochikuru taki no shiraito wa musubade miru mo suzushikarikeri
Next Poem: Itsu tote mo oshiku ya wa aranu toshitsuki o misogi ni sutsuru natsu no kure kana