Isonokami furuki miyako wa kamisabite tataru ni shi are ya hito mo kayowanu

石上古き都は神さびて
祟るにしあれや人も通はぬ

Roma-ji: Isonokami furuki miyako wa kamisabite tataru ni shi are ya hito mo kayowanu
English Translation: At Isonokami
the old capital has grown
hallowed with age—
is it some curse of the gods
that no one now comes here?
Meaning: The old capital at Isonokami has grown hallowed with age; might it be under a curse of the gods, that no one comes there any more?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 643

Headnote: "Composed on the old capital in the manner of a poem on the gods"
Singing of an old capital through the gods, the poet says the old capital at Isonokami has grown venerable, and wonders whether a divine curse is why no one comes there now, voicing the loneliness of a ruined former capital.
The Ruijū text gives the headnote as "On the heart of the old village." The Ruijū text and the text transmitted by Teika read line 4 as tataru ni shi are ya. Lines 2 and 4 are hard to read in the source as displayed and are here read furuki miyako wa and tataru ni shi are ya.

Line 1, isonokami, is a pillow word for "old" and also the place name Isonokami in Yamato.
Line 2 means "the old capital."
Line 3 means "grown hallowed," the same word as line 3 of the preceding poem.
Line 4 means "might there be a curse?" eight syllables, ya interrogative.
Line 5 means "no one comes," nu in the attributive form concluding ya.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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