Ikuchiyo to kagiranu tazu no koe su nari kumoi no chikaki yado no shirushi ni - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

幾千代と限らぬ鶴の声すなり
雲居の近き宿のしるしに

Roma-ji: Ikuchiyo to kagiranu tazu no koe su nari kumoi no chikaki yado no shirushi ni
English Translation: I hear the voice of
the crane, whose many thousand
ages know no limit:
a sign that this dwelling stands
close to the clouds of the court
Meaning: I hear the voice of the crane, whose thousands of ages know no limit: a sign that my dwelling stands close to the clouds, to the imperial palace.
Commentary: Book Ten Poems of Celebration 627

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'Cranes Pledge Distant Years' when, in the reign of Emperor Nijō, while the palace was at Ōinomikado Takakura, poems and Chinese verses were first recited at his house in the ward to the west of it"
In the reign of Emperor Nijō, when the palace stood at Ōinomikado Takakura, the poet held his first gathering of Chinese and Japanese verse at his house in the ward to the west, and composed this on the topic "Cranes pledge distant years." I hear the voice of the crane whose thousands of ages know no limit, he says, a sign of a dwelling close to the clouds. Taking the crane's high cry as announcing the endurance of his house near the palace, he celebrates both the new beginning of his household and the reign.
The author, "the Ōinomikado Minister of the Right," is Fujiwara no Kinyoshi. The son of Minister of the Left Fujiwara no Saneyoshi, he rose to Minister of the Right. He was the father of Fujiwara no Sanesada, the Later Tokudaiji Minister of the Left.
It opens with the same first line, "ikuchiyo to," as 606 at the head of this book, and its second line "kagiranu" shares its wording with "kagirazarikeru" in 606. Poems on the crane continue here from 624.

First line, "ikuchiyo to": "how many thousands of ages." It is the same as the first line of 606 at the head of the book.
Second line, "kagiranu tazu no": "of the crane whose life knows no limit," taking up "distant years" in the topic. The crane was believed to live a thousand years. It shares the crane with "tobu tazu no" in the third line of 624.
Third line, "koe su nari": "nari" is the auxiliary of inference based on sound, "I hear its voice." The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "kumoi no chikaki": "kumoi" means the sky, and is also used for the imperial court. It overlays the crane crying high in the sky and the house standing near the palace.
Fifth line, "yado no shirushi ni": "yado" is the poet's house, and "shirushi" a sign or token. Poems 619, 636 and 640 of this book also speak of a "shirushi."
Author: Fujiwara no Kinyoshi
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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