Haru goto ni nobe no komatsu o hiku hito wa ikura no chiyo o fu beki naruran

春ごとに野辺の小松を引く人は
いくらの千代を経べきなるらん

Roma-ji: Haru goto ni nobe no komatsu o hiku hito wa ikura no chiyo o fu beki naruran
English Translation: Every passing spring,
those who pull the little pines
out on the meadows:
how many thousand ages
must they be destined to see?
Meaning: Those who pull up the young pines in the fields every spring: how many thousands of years must they be destined to live?
Commentary: Spring Poems 14

Headnote: "The Day of the Rat"
The topic is the pulling of young pines on the Day of the Rat. Pulling a pine is a rite to pray for a thousand years of life, so the poet playfully wonders how many thousand-year spans must pile up for those who repeat it every single spring.
By the logic that a rite granting a thousand years, performed every year, must heap up thousand upon thousand, the poem swells the spirit of celebration into a bright poem of blessing.

First line, “haru goto ni”: each time spring comes, every spring.
Second line, “nobe no komatsu o”: young pines growing in the fields, pulled up root and all on the Day of the Rat to pray for long life.
Third line, “hiku hito wa”: those who pull the pines in the Rat Day outing.
Fourth line, “ikura no chiyo o”: how many thousand years, counting in units of a thousand.
Fifth line, “fu beki naruran”: they must be going to live through, closing with the conjectural ran in a spirit of playful delight.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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