Kasugano no ne no hi no matsu wa hikade koso kamisabi yukamu kage ni kakureme - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春日野の子の日の松は引かでこそ
神さびゆかむ影に隠れめ

Roma-ji: Kasugano no ne no hi no matsu wa hikade koso kamisabi yukamu kage ni kakureme
English Translation: On Kasuga's plain
the pines of the Day of the Rat,
left unpulled, I'd say,
will grow hoary and divine;
in their shade I'll take my rest
Meaning: Rather than pulling up the young pines of the Day of the Rat on Kasuga Plain, let them be, and I will shelter in the shade of the venerable, god-like pines they will become.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 22

The poem concerns the custom of going out to the fields on the first Day of the Rat in the New Year to pull up young pines. Though one usually pulls them to pray for long life, the poet deliberately leaves them, planning to rest in the shade of the great, hallowed trees they will become; this reversal is its distinctive feature. Kasuga Plain, near the Kasuga shrine, is a fitting setting for pines that grow divine with age.

First line, 'kasugano no', is a famous place in Yamato, sung as a site for gathering young greens and for the Day of the Rat outing.
Second line, 'ne no hi no matsu wa', are the young pines pulled on the first Day of the Rat in the New Year.
Third line, 'hikade koso', means precisely by not pulling them; koso closes on the perfective kakureme in the final line.
Fourth line, 'kamisabi yukamu', means they will grow hoary and godlike, picturing the saplings as great trees after long years.
Final line, 'kage ni kakureme', means I will shelter in their shade; me is the perfective form of the volitional mu.
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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