雪降りて年の暮れぬる時にこそ
つひにもみぢぬ松も見えけれ
つひにもみぢぬ松も見えけれ
- Roma-ji
-
Yuki furite toshi no kurenuru toki ni koso
tsui ni momijinu matsu mo miekere - English Translation
-
when snow falls at last
and the year comes to its close—
only then we see
the pine that never changes hue
that never turns like autumn leaves
- Meaning
- When snow falls and the year comes to its end, it is then that one notices the pine that never changes its color.
- Commentary
-
Book Six Winter Poems
This poem was composed for a poetry contest at the Empress’s palace during the Kanpyō era.
Because pine leaves remain evergreen and show no change throughout the year, unlike other plants that bloom in spring or turn color in autumn, they tend to go unnoticed. Yet in the cold of winter, when other plants have lost their leaves and all is withered, one comes to recognize the enduring excellence of the evergreen pine.
It is likely based on the Analects passage: “Only when the year grows cold do we know that pine and cypress are the last to wither.”
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Aratama no toshi no owari ni naru goto ni
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Kinō to ii kyō to kurashite Asukagawa
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