Suminoe no kishi no himematsu furinikeri izure no yo ni ka tane wa makikemu

住の江の岸の姫松古りにけり
いづれの世にか種は蒔きけむ

Roma-ji: Suminoe no kishi no himematsu furinikeri izure no yo ni ka tane wa makikemu
English Translation: The little pines
on the shore of Suminoe
have grown old indeed;
in what age, I wonder,
were their seeds first sown?
Meaning: The little pines on the shore of Suminoe have grown so old; in what age, I wonder, were their seeds sown?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 627

Headnote: "Written on a folding screen"
Written on a folding screen, the poem says the little pines on the shore of Suminoe have grown into old trees, and wonders in what age their seeds were sown, thinking of the pines' great age. It draws on the Kokinshū poem about the little pines of Suminoe that have stood so long.
The Ruijū text gives the headnote as "A screen poem." Line 1 is hard to read in the source as displayed and is read Suminoe no after the Ruijū text and the text transmitted by Teika.

Line 1 names Suminoe, the inlet at Sumiyoshi in Settsu, a poetic place famed for pines.
Line 2 means "the little pines of the shore," a phrase from the Kokinshū poem.
Line 3 means "have grown old," with a break after the line.
Line 4 means "in what age?" ka concluded by kemu in line 5, the same question as in 616 of this book.
Line 5 means "were the seeds sown?" kemu past conjecture; it echoes the pine "seed" of 619 of this book.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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