Kusa mo ki mo furimagaetaru yukimoyo ni haru matsu ume no hana no ka zo suru

English Translation

Grass and trees alike
lost from sight in the whirling
of the falling snow—
yet there comes the fragrance of
plum blossoms waiting for spring

Meaning

In the thick of the falling snow, where grass and trees can no longer be told apart, there comes the scent of plum blossoms waiting for spring.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems 684

Headnote: "For the Poetry Contest in Fifteen Hundred Rounds."
This is the twenty-eighth poem of the snow sequence and the last of that sequence. In the thick of falling snow, where grass and trees can no longer be told apart, the fragrance of plum blossoms waiting for spring is sensed. According to the headnote, it was composed for the Poetry Contest in Fifteen Hundred Rounds.
The author, "Intendant of the Right Gate Guards Michitomo," is Minamoto no Michitomo. A son of the Palace Minister Minamoto no Michichika, he was one of the compilers of the Shin Kokin Wakashū.
The scene is near the end of winter as the snow falls thick, and the place is where a plum tree stands.
The direct occasion is the Poetry Contest in Fifteen Hundred Rounds held by Retired Emperor Go-Toba.

The first line, "kusa mo ki mo," means "both grass and trees."
The second line, "furimagaetaru," means "falling so that they cannot be told apart," with "taru" as the attributive form of the auxiliary of continuance "tari."
The third line, "yukimoyo ni," means "in the midst of the falling snow," with "moyo" meaning "in the very midst of."
The fourth line, "haru matsu ume no," means "of the plum waiting for spring to bloom."
The last line, "hana no ka zo suru," is a kakari-musubi construction in which "zo" is answered by "suru," the attributive form of the verb "su," meaning "there is the scent of the blossoms." Though the blossoms themselves are hidden in the snow, their presence is known by their scent. Where the preceding poem lamented branches bare of blossoms and leaves and cherished the snow on the pines, this poem finds within the snow the scent of plum blossoms waiting for spring, closing the snow sequence with the hope of spring stirring within winter.

Author

Minamoto no Michitomo

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other