Kimi ga yo wa nao shimo tsukiji Sumiyoshi no matsu wa momotabi oikawaru tomo

君が代はなほしも尽きじ住吉の
松は百度生ひ代はるとも

Roma-ji: Kimi ga yo wa nao shimo tsukiji Sumiyoshi no matsu wa momotabi oikawaru tomo
English Translation: Our lord's reign
shall never come to an end,
even though the pines
of Sumiyoshi should grow
and be renewed a hundred times.
Meaning: My lord's reign shall never end, even if the pines of Sumiyoshi should die and grow anew a hundred times.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 655

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the theme of celebration through the pine"
Even when time enough has passed for the long-lived pines of Sumiyoshi to be replaced a hundred times, the poet says, his lord's reign will still not end, heightening the blessing by setting the reign beyond even the life of the pine. Kamo no Mabuchi marked it with a sign of praise.
The Ruijū text places it in its section of celebration under the title "On celebration through the pine."

Line 1 means "my lord's reign."
Line 2 means "shall still not end," shimo intensive and ji negative conjecture, with a break after the line.
Line 3 means "of Sumiyoshi" in Settsu, whose pines symbolize long life, moving from Nagara in the two preceding poems to Sumiyoshi in the same province.
Line 4 means "the pines a hundred times."
Line 5 means "even if they grow anew," tomo concessive; the inversion gives the measure of the reign last.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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