Spring haze rising—
where can it be found at all?
Here in fair Yoshino,
on Yoshino’s mountain slopes,
snow is still falling.

Meaning

Spring has begun, and yet where can the rising haze of spring be found? Here in fair Yoshino, on the slopes of Mount Yoshino, the snow still falls, and there is not yet the faintest sign of spring.

Commentary

Volume One: Spring Songs (Upper)
Though it bears the name of the Beginning of Spring, snow still falls in the mountain village, and the people who live there give voice to their longing for the coming of a spring when flowers will bloom.
Yoshino is a place where, when spring truly arrives, the cherry blossoms burst into bloom all at once.

Author

Unknown Poet

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

Before the year turns, spring has already arrived; one passing year— shall I call it last year, or this year, I wonder?
With sleeves soaked through, the water once I cupped now froze; now, on this spring day, is today’s gentle wind melting that ice away?
While snow still falls, spring has already arrived; the bush warbler’s tears, once frozen in the cold— are they melting now?
The fence I knew of the girl I once beheld has fallen to ruin; amid mingled cogon grass, violets alone remain.

Spring haze rising— where can it be found at all? Here in fair Yoshino, on Yoshino’s mountain slopes, snow is still falling.

Spring haze rising—
where can it be found at all?
Here in fair Yoshino,
on Yoshino’s mountain slopes,
snow is still falling.