Sakakiba wa momiji mo seji o kamigaki no karakurenai ni miewataru kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

榊葉は紅葉もせじを神がきの
から紅に見えわたるかな

Roma-ji: Sakakiba wa momiji mo seji o kamigaki no karakurenai ni miewataru kana
English Translation: Leaves of sakaki
never turn to autumn red,
yet the sacred fence
all in a deep Chinese crimson
spreads before my eyes
Meaning: The leaves of the sakaki never turn red in autumn, and yet the sacred fence of the shrine spreads before my eyes all in deep crimson.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1171

Headnote: "Kaki no kara"
This is a hidden-name poem, concealing the words "kaki no kara" across "kamigaki no" in the third line and "karakurenai ni" in the fourth. Sakaki leaves never turn red, yet the sacred fence looks crimson all around, she says. Though the evergreen sakaki never changes color, the fence about the shrine appears red everywhere, and she marvels at it as if it were autumn foliage.
The author, "Daini no Sanmi," was the daughter of Fujiwara no Nobutaka, named Kenshi. Her mother was Murasaki Shikibu.
It is the third poem of the hidden-name series.

First line, "sakakiba wa": the sakaki is an evergreen used in Shinto rites, sung of as a tree that never changes color.
Second line, "momiji mo seji o": "ji" is the negative conjectural auxiliary and "o" an adversative conjunctive particle, "though it should never turn red."
Third line, "kamigaki no": "kamigaki" is the fence surrounding a shrine, its sacred precinct. From "kaki no" at its end into the next line lies hidden "kaki no kara."
Fourth line, "karakurenai ni": "karakurenai" is a vivid deep crimson.
Fifth line, "miewataru kana": "how it appears all around," with "kana" an exclamatory final particle.
Author: Daini no Sanmi
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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