Yorozuyo o chigirisometsuru shirushi ni wa katsugatsu kyō no kure zo hisashiki - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

万代を契り初めつるしるしには
かつがつ今日の暮ぞ久しき

Roma-ji: Yorozuyo o chigirisometsuru shirushi ni wa katsugatsu kyō no kure zo hisashiki
English Translation: As the first sign of
the pledge we have begun
for ten thousand ages,
for now, the dusk of this one day
seems so very long to come
Meaning: As a sign that we have begun a pledge for ten thousand ages, for now even the hours until this evening seem so very long.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 797

Headnote: "Sent the morning after the Empress Dowager first came to the palace, while His Majesty was on the throne"
Sent the morning after Fujiwara no Kinshi, later the Empress Dowager, first entered the palace while Go-Shirakawa was on the throne. As a sign that we have begun a pledge for ten thousand ages, he says, for now even the time until this evening seems long. Setting the eternity of "ten thousand ages" against the brief span until this day's dusk, he conveys his feeling for his new consort: at the start of a pledge to last for ages, even the short wait until they meet again tonight is hard to bear.
"His Majesty the Retired Emperor" refers to poems by Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who commanded the compilation of this anthology. The fourth son of Emperor Toba, he reigned as the seventy-seventh emperor and after abdicating long ruled as cloistered emperor. He loved imayō songs and compiled the Ryōjin Hishō. "The Empress Dowager" in the headnote is Fujiwara no Kinshi, daughter of Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Kin'yoshi, who became Go-Shirakawa's empress and was Empress Dowager when this anthology was compiled.
Two morning-after letters follow from this poem to the next, 798. This one speaks from the side of one who cannot wait for evening after their meeting, while the next speaks from the side of one whose morning-after letter came late and kept the other waiting.

First line, "yorozuyo o": "for ten thousand ages," a pledge that never changes.
Second line, "chigirisometsuru": "somu" is to begin, and "tsuru" the attributive of the perfective "tsu," "we have begun our pledge," pointing to their first night together.
Third line, "shirushi ni wa": "as a sign of it."
Fourth line, "katsugatsu kyō no": "katsugatsu" means "for now, to begin with," setting this single day against the "ten thousand ages" of the first line.
Fifth line, "kure zo hisashiki": "zo" is emphatic and binds with the attributive "hisashiki," "how long until this day's dusk."
Author: Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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