Mukashi mishi matsu no kozue wa sore nagara mugura no kado o sashitekeru kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

昔見し松の梢はそれながら
むぐらの門をさしてけるかな

Roma-ji: Mukashi mishi matsu no kozue wa sore nagara mugura no kado o sashitekeru kana
English Translation: The tops of the pines
that I saw in days gone by
remain as they were,
yet the gate, grown thick with weeds,
has now been shut fast
Meaning: The tops of the pines I saw long ago are just as they were, yet now the gate is shut and overgrown with tangled weeds.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1102

Headnote: "Sent to Gō no Jijū, who was living within, when after the passing of Retired Emperor Sanjō I went by his palace and saw that the tops of the pines were as before, but the earthen walls had crumbled here and there and were overgrown with weeds"
After Retired Emperor Sanjō had died, she passed by his palace and saw that while the tops of the pines looked as before, the earthen walls had crumbled in places and were overgrown with weeds, and she sent this poem to Gō no Jijū, who lived within. The tops of the pines I saw long ago are as they were, yet the weed-grown gate has been shut, she says. She depicts the ruin of the palace that has lost its master through the contrast between the unchanging pines and the thriving weeds, and thinks of the lonely life of Gō no Jijū, who still served there.
The author, "Ben no Menoto," was a daughter of Fujiwara no Noritoki. She served as nurse to Princess Teishi, daughter of Emperor Sanjō. Gō no Jijū was a daughter of Ōe no Masahira and Akazome Emon.
It shares with 1054 of this book, which sings of flowers blooming as of old at a dwelling that has lost its master, the theme of things that remain unchanged after their master is gone.

First line, "mukashi mishi": "that I saw long ago," in the lifetime of Retired Emperor Sanjō.
Second line, "matsu no kozue wa": "the tops of the pines," ever green and unchanging.
Third line, "sore nagara": "just as they were," a concessive leading into the lower verse.
Fourth line, "mugura no kado o": "the gate overgrown with weeds," the ruin of the palace.
Fifth line, "sashitekeru kana": "sasu" means to shut a gate, "keru" is the attributive of the exclamatory "keri," and "kana" an exclamatory final particle, "how it has been shut."
Author: Ben no Menoto
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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