Mikurayama maki no ya tatete sumu tami wa toshi o tsumu tomo kuchiji to zo omou - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

みくらやままきのやたてて住む民は
年を積むとも朽ちじとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Mikurayama maki no ya tatete sumu tami wa toshi o tsumu tomo kuchiji to zo omou
English Translation: On Mount Mikura
those who build of maki wood
their homes and dwell there,
though they heap up years on years,
will never decay, I think
Meaning: Those who build their homes of maki wood on Mount Mikura and dwell there will never decay, I think, however many years they heap up.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1174

Headnote: "Mamaki no yatate"
This is a hidden-name poem, concealing the words "mamaki no yatate" across "Mikurayama" in the first line and "maki no ya tatete" in the second. Those who build houses of maki wood on Mount Mikura and live there will not decay however many years pass, he says. It celebrates the long life of people dwelling in houses built of maki, a wood that does not easily rot.
The author, "Minamoto no Toshiyori Ason," was a son of the Major Counselor Minamoto no Tsunenobu. He was active in the poetry circle of Emperor Horikawa and compiled the Kin'yō Wakashū at the command of Retired Emperor Shirakawa.
It is the sixth poem of the hidden-name series.

First line, "Mikurayama": the name of a mountain, understood as Mount Mikura. From its final "ma" into the next line lies hidden "mamaki no yatate."
Second line, "maki no ya tatete": "maki" is a general name for fine timber trees such as cedar and cypress, and "ya tatete" means building a house.
Third line, "sumu tami wa": "the people who dwell there."
Fourth line, "toshi o tsumu tomo": "tomo" is a concessive conjunctive particle, "though they heap up the years."
Fifth line, "kuchiji to zo omou": "ji" is the negative conjectural auxiliary, and "zo," an emphatic binding particle, closes with the attributive "omou." The house of maki that never rots is overlaid with the long prosperity of the people who live in it.
Author: Minamoto no Toshiyori
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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