Kazu kakuru nami ni shizue no iro somete kamisabi masaru sumiyoshi no matsu

数かくる波に下枝の色染めて
神さびまさる住吉の松

Roma-ji: Kazu kakuru nami ni shizue no iro somete kamisabi masaru sumiyoshi no matsu
English Translation: With waves beyond count
breaking on its lower boughs,
dyeing them in hue,
ever more divine it grows—
the pine of Sumiyoshi.
Meaning: Its lower branches dyed by countless breaking waves, the pine of Sumiyoshi grows ever more divine.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1180

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Congratulations"
Its lower branches dyed by waves breaking upon them beyond count, the pine of Sumiyoshi grows ever more sacred, the poet says.
The Sumiyoshi pine, standing before the shrine of the Sumiyoshi deity, was a poetic place symbolizing longevity and divine power. In a pine that grows holier over long years, as though counting the waves that have struck it, the poet celebrates the endurance of the reign. The Sumiyoshi pines appear with waves in 1054 of this book as well.

First line, “kazu kakuru”: breaking upon it again and again, the many times the waves have come.
Second line, “nami ni shizue no”: shizue are the lower branches.
Third line, “iro somete”: dyeing their color, the hue deepened by spray.
Fourth line, “kamisabi masaru”: growing ever more divine.
Fifth line, “sumiyoshi no matsu”: ending on a noun, the pine of the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Settsu.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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