Kamigaki ni mukashi waga mishi ume no hana tomo ni oiki to narinikeru kana - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

神垣に昔我が見し梅の花
ともに老い木となりにけるかな

Roma-ji: Kamigaki ni mukashi waga mishi ume no hana tomo ni oiki to narinikeru kana
English Translation: Within the shrine's fence
the plum tree in blossom
that long ago I saw,
together with me it has
grown into an aged tree
Meaning: The plum blossoms I once saw within the shrine's fence have, along with me, become an old and weathered tree.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 516

The poet finds that the plum tree he saw within the shrine grounds in his youth has, over the years, grown old just as he has. Returning to the shrine's plum after a long absence, he overlays his own aging upon it and quietly conveys his feeling for the years gone by.
This is the opening poem of Book Nine, Miscellaneous Poems I. The closing poem, 603, is Suō no Naishi's answer to the lament of Minamoto no Toshiyori, the poet's son, and closes the book with the moon in a clearing sky. A book that opens with a father's reflection on old age thus ends with a poem consoling his son's misfortune. The word kamigaki also opens poems 547 and 548 in this book.
The author, Tsunenobu, is Minamoto no Tsunenobu. A son of the Minister of Popular Affairs Michikata, he rose to Major Counselor and was known as the Katsura Major Counselor. He was the father of Minamoto no Toshiyori, compiler of this anthology, and in his last years died at his post in Dazaifu as Acting Governor-General. One of his poems appears in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, 'kamigaki ni', means within the shrine fence, pointing to sacred ground. Poems 547 and 548 in this book also open with kamigaki.
Second line, 'mukashi waga mishi', means that I saw long ago, the attributive shi of the past ki recalling an experience of his youth.
Third line, 'ume no hana', is the blossoming plum planted before the shrine.
Fourth line, 'tomo ni oiki to', means becoming an old tree together with me, overlaying the poet's own age upon the aged plum.
Final line, 'narinikeru kana', means how it has become so, the perfective nu and exclamatory keri followed by kana, closing with feeling for the passing years.
Author: Minamoto no Tsunenobu
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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