稲荷山しるしの杉の年古りて
みつのみやしろ神さびにけり
みつのみやしろ神さびにけり
- Roma-ji
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Inariyama shirushi no sugi no toshi furite mitsu no miyashiro kamisabinikeri
- English Translation
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On Mount Inari
the cedars of blessing
have grown old with years,
and the three shrines upon it
have taken on godly age
- Meaning
- The cedars of blessing on Mount Inari have grown old with the years, and the three shrines have taken on a sacred, aged dignity.
- Commentary
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Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1178
Headnote: "Mitsu no mi"
This is a hidden-name poem, concealing the words "mitsu no mi" within "mitsu no miyashiro" in the fifth line. The cedars of blessing on Mount Inari have grown old, and the three shrines have become venerable, he says. The Inari shrine consists of three shrines, upper, middle and lower, and pilgrims broke off cedar sprigs to take home as a sign of the god's blessing. He praises how the cedars and shrines alike have grown ever more sacred with the long years.
The author, "Bishop Ukei," was a monk of the Heian period who held the rank of sōzu, but the details of his life are not known.
It is the tenth poem of the hidden-name series.
First line, "Inariyama": a mountain in Yamashiro where the Inari shrine stands.
Second line, "shirushi no sugi no": the "cedar of blessing," sprigs broken off by pilgrims to Inari and carried home as a sign of the god's favor.
Third line, "toshi furite": "having grown old with the years."
Fourth line, "mitsu no miyashiro": "the three shrines," upper, middle and lower, and within "mitsu no mi" lies the hidden word.
Fifth line, "kamisabinikeri": "kamisabu" means to grow old and venerable, with "ni" perfective and "keri" exclamatory.
- Author
- Ukei
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
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Aki wa kiri kiri suginureba yuki furite haruru ma mo naki miyamabe no sato
- Next Poem
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Na ni shi owaba tsune wa Yurugi no mori ni shimo ikade ka sagi no i wa yasuku nuru