In Michinoku, after my wife had died, I wrote this when Tsutsugimi put on trousers for the first time.
いにしへをけふにあはするものならばひとりは千代を祈らざらまし
| inisiFe wo keFu ni aFasuru mono naraba Fitori Fa tiyo wo inorazaramasi |
If she, now gone, To meet with this day Had been able, Alone, for a thousand years of health I would not be praying… |
Is the headnote a reference to the 袴着•はかまぎ ceremony? If so, would put Tsutsugimi’s age at 5 at the time of this poem?
Between 5 and 7 – given the dearth of information about Tsutsugimi, it is impossible to be any more definite than that.