君が代は天児屋根の命より
祝ひぞそめし久しかれとは
祝ひぞそめし久しかれとは
- Roma-ji
-
Kimi ga yo wa ama no koyane no mikoto yori iwai zo someshi hisashikare to wa
- English Translation
-
For our lord's reign
ever since the god
Ame no Koyane,
the blessing has been given:
may it long, long endure
- Meaning
- Ever since the age of the god Ame no Koyane, people have offered the blessing that our lord's reign may long endure.
- Commentary
-
Book Five Celebration Poems 324
The blessing that the sovereign's reign may long endure began in the age of the gods, with Ame no Koyane, the poem says. Ame no Koyane is the god said to have recited prayers before the Heavenly Rock Cave and is regarded as the ancestral god of the Fujiwara clan. Tracing the custom of blessing the reign back to the age of the gods, the poem celebrates the reign through the Fujiwara ancestral god.
From poem 322 through poem 326 in this book come poems celebrating a thousand and ten thousand ages, mingling words tied to the Fujiwara clan such as Mount Mikasa, Ame no Koyane and wisteria.
The author, Koben, was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Yūshi, a daughter of Emperor Go-Suzaku. She is said to have been the mother of the poet Kii of Princess Yūshi's Household.
First line, 'kimi ga yo wa', is the same first line as the preceding poem, 323, and the next poem, 325, begins with it too.
Second line, 'ama no koyane no', is the name of the god said to have recited prayers before the Heavenly Rock Cave.
Third line, 'mikoto yori', means since the god, mikoto being an honorific for gods.
Fourth line, 'iwai zo someshi', means the blessing was first given, zo binding with the attributive shi. The poem breaks after the fourth line and the final line is inverted.
Final line, 'hisashikare to wa', means that it may long endure, giving the words of the blessing.
- Author
- Yushi Naishinno-ke no Koben
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Kimi ga yo wa iku yorozuyo ka kasanubeki itsunukigawa no tsuru no kegoromo
- Next Poem
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Kimi ga yo wa kagiri mo araji mikasayama mine ni asahi no sasamu kagiri wa