Mikarino wa katsu furu yuki ni uzumorete todachi mo miezu kusagakuretsutsu

English Translation

The hunting moor
is buried as the snow
keeps falling on it;
no bird-haunts can be seen,
the grasses hidden deep

Meaning

The hunting moor lies buried under snow that piles up even as it falls—the places where birds rise can no longer be seen, and the grasses are hidden away.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems 687

Headnote: "For the Kayanoin Poetry Contest of the Kyōgoku Regent and Former Chancellor."
This is the third poem of the winter-hunt sequence. The hunting moor is buried in snow that keeps falling, and neither the bird-haunts nor the grasses can be seen. According to the headnote, it was composed for the poetry contest held at the Kayanoin by the Kyōgoku Regent, Fujiwara no Morozane.
The author, "Former Middle Counselor Masafusa," is Ōe no Masafusa. A son of Ōe no Narihira, he rose to Provisional Middle Counselor. Known as the foremost scholar of his day, he was called Gōsochi.
The scene is a hunting ground in falling snow, and the place is the moor where the hunt is held.
The direct occasion is the poetry contest held at the Kayanoin by the Kyōgoku Regent Fujiwara no Morozane.

The first line, "mikarino wa," means "the moor where the hunt is held."
In the second line, "katsu furu yuki ni," "katsu" means "even as" or "one after another," giving "in the snow that piles up even as it falls."
The third line, "uzumorete," means "buried in snow."
The fourth line, "todachi mo miezu," means "the places where birds rise cannot be seen," taking up "todachi no hara" from the preceding poem.
The last line, "kusagakuretsutsu," means "with the grasses hidden beneath the snow," with "tsutsu" expressing continuance. It sings of a moor where snow covers both bird-haunts and grasses, leaving no clue for the hunt. Where the preceding poem spent the day searching the fields where birds rise, in this poem the very bird-haunts to be searched are hidden under snow, and a snowy scene with no clue left for the hunt is sung.

Author

Oe no Masafusa

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other