Iwa no ue ni ouru komatsu no toshi mo henu iku chiyo made to chigiriokikemu

岩の上に生ふる小松の年も経ぬ
幾千代までと契りおきけむ

Roma-ji: Iwa no ue ni ouru komatsu no toshi mo henu iku chiyo made to chigiriokikemu
English Translation: Upon the rock
the little pine that grows there
has lived out its years;
"until how many thousand ages?"
was the promise that it made.
Meaning: The little pine growing upon the rock has lived through many years; for how many thousand ages, I wonder, did it pledge to live?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 660

Headnote: "On a sliding-door painting of pines growing on rocks"
Looking at a sliding-door painting of pines growing on rocks, the poet says the little pine on the rock has passed many years and wonders for how many thousand ages it promised to live, blessing the permanence of rock and pine.
The Ruijū text places it among the "poems found in other and printed texts."

Line 1 means "upon the rock," the unmoving rock an emblem of eternity.
Line 2 means "of the little pine growing."
Line 3 means "years have passed," with a break after the line.
Line 4 means "until how many thousand ages."
Line 5 means "did it promise?" kemu past conjecture.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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