classic waka stream

年を経て通ふ山路は変はらねど
今日はさかゆく心地こそすれ
Roma-ji

Toshi o hete kayou yamaji wa kawaranedo kyō wa sakayuku kokochi koso sure

English Translation
Through the many years
the mountain path I travel
has not changed at all,
yet today I feel as if
I climb the slope to fortune
Meaning
The mountain path I have walked for so many years has not changed, yet today I feel as though I am climbing the slope toward good fortune.
Commentary
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 528

The mountain path he has walked for many years has not changed at all, the poet says, yet today, as he climbs the slope, he feels as if he were rising in fortune. While walking the same path as always, he expresses the special feeling of a day of good news through the pivot between climbing a slope and flourishing.
The final line kokochi koso sure is the same as that of poem 518 in this book. Where 518 lamented the poet's self in the blossoms left behind, this poem sings of the joy of rising fortune, so the shared final line sets sorrow against joy.
The author, Ryōzen, was a Tendai monk of the mid-Heian period who is said to have served as superintendent of the Gion Shrine. One of his poems appears in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, 'toshi o hete', means through the years.
Second line, 'kayou yamaji wa', means the mountain path I travel.
Third line, 'kawaranedo', means though it has not changed, the realis ne of the negative zu followed by the concessive do.
Fourth line, 'kyō wa sakayuku', is a pivot in which sakayuku means both climbing a slope and growing prosperous, left in kana. It is tied to yamaji, the mountain path, in the second line.
Final line, 'kokochi koso sure', means so it feels, the particle koso answered by sure, the realis of su. It is the same final line as poem 518 in this book.
Author
Ryōzen
Source
Kinyo Wakashu
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