幾かへり花咲きぬらむ住吉の
松も神代のものとこそ聞け
松も神代のものとこそ聞け
- Roma-ji
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Ikukaeri hana sakinuramu Sumiyoshi no matsu mo kamiyo no mono to koso kike
- English Translation
-
How many times now
have its flowers come to bloom?
The pine of Sumiyoshi
belongs to the age of gods,
or so at least I have heard
- Meaning
- How many times must it have flowered? For I have heard that the pine of Sumiyoshi has stood since the age of the gods.
- Commentary
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Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 530
How many times, the poet asks, has the pine of Sumiyoshi flowered, since he has heard it has stood since the age of the gods? The pine was said to bloom once in a thousand years, and by asking how often it has bloomed, the poem praises the boundless age of the Sumiyoshi pine and the eternity of the Sumiyoshi god.
The pines of Sumiyoshi have long been sung as a symbol of longevity. In this book, poem 592 is by Tsumori no Kunimoto, chief priest of the Sumiyoshi Shrine.
The author, Toshiyori, is Minamoto no Toshiyori. A son of the Major Counselor Minamoto no Tsunenobu, he compiled this anthology at the command of Retired Emperor Shirakawa.
First line, 'ikukaeri', means how many times, kaeri counting occurrences.
Second line, 'hana sakinuramu', means have its flowers bloomed, the perfective nu followed by the conjectural ramu. It refers to the pine flowers said to bloom once in a thousand years. The poem breaks after the second line.
Third line, 'Sumiyoshi no', names Sumiyoshi in Settsu, a famous place in poetry known for the pines of its shrine.
Fourth line, 'matsu mo kamiyo no', means the pine too is of the age of gods, saying it has stood since that time.
Final line, 'mono to koso kike', means so I have heard, the particle koso answered by kike, the realis of kiku. Closing in the realis leaves a lingering, concessive note.
- Author
- Minamoto no Toshiyori
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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Omoikane kesa wa sora o ya nagamuramu kumo no kayoiji kasumi hedatete
- Next Poem
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Masurao wa yamada no io ni oinikeri ima ikuchiyo ni awamu to suramu