near the seashore
the falling snow drifts down—
and it appears as though
white waves might overpass now
Sue no Matsuyama

Meaning

Near the shore, the falling snow seems as though white waves might rise and cross over Sue no Matsuyama.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems

This poem was composed for a poetry contest in the imperial consort’s quarters during the Kanpyō era.

The expression “waves crossing Sue no Matsuyama,” often used as a metaphor for something impossible, is here evoked by the sight of snow falling and piling near the shore, resembling white waves.

Sue no Matsuyama, now in present-day Tagajō in Miyagi, is a well-known scenic place. The poem may also allude playfully to an earlier poem that uses this image to swear unchanging love.

Author

Fujiwara no Okikaze

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

white snow falling down without choosing where it lies— covering all alike even upon the rocky crags it seems that flowers bloom there
on fair Yoshino the mountain snow must be piled— for in the old capital the cold grows ever deeper more than it was before
on fair Yoshino through the mountain’s deep white snow he made his way in— yet from that man who entered no word has come at all
in mountain villages where white snow has fallen deep and lies heaped upon— even those who dwell there now may feel their thoughts fade away

near the seashore the falling snow drifts down— and it appears as though white waves might overpass now Sue no Matsuyama

near the seashore
the falling snow drifts down—
and it appears as though
white waves might overpass now
Sue no Matsuyama