classic waka stream

枝ごとのすゑまで匂ふ花なれば
散るもみゆきと見ゆるなるらん
Roma-ji

Edagoto no sue made niou hana nareba chiru mo miyuki to miyuru naruran

English Translation
Since these are blossoms
that glow to the very tips
of every branch,
even their scattering must seem
a deep snow and a royal progress.
Meaning
Since these blossoms glow to the very tips of every branch, even their falling must look like deep snow and a royal progress.
Commentary
Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1454

Headnote: "Reply."
This is the fourth poem of the sequence on the cherry, the reply of the Nijō Regent and Palace Minister to Higo's poem in the preceding poem. Since the blossoms glow to the tips of every branch, he says, even their scattering must look like deep snow and a royal progress, accepting her celebration of the house.
The author, "the Nijō Regent and Palace Minister," is Fujiwara no Moromichi. The son of Regent Fujiwara no Morozane, he became Palace Minister and served as Regent.

The first line, "edagoto no," means "of every single branch." It shows the whole tree filled with blossoms.
In the second line, "sue made niou," "sue" plays on the tips of the branches and the descendants of a family. Taking up "yorozuyo" of the preceding poem, it celebrates the family's prosperity reaching to its latest generations.
The third line, "hana nareba," adds "ba" to the perfective form to state a fixed condition, answering in the same form as "yado nareba," the third line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "chiru mo miyuki to," takes up the wordplay on "miyuki" of the preceding poem as it is. Keeping both meanings, deep snow and royal progress, it turns even the falling blossoms into a celebration.
The last line, "miyuru naruran," uses the conjectural "ran" to say "it must seem so," answering "miete" of the preceding poem.
Author
Fujiwara no Moromichi
Source
Shin Kokin Wakashu
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