Oinikeru shiraga mo hana mo morotomo ni kyō no miyuki ni yuki to miekeri - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

老いにける白髪も花ももろともに
今日のみゆきに雪と見えけり

Roma-ji: Oinikeru shiraga mo hana mo morotomo ni kyō no miyuki ni yuki to miekeri
English Translation: My hair grown so old
and white, and the blossoms too,
both of them alike,
on this day of royal progress
appear as though they were snow.
Meaning: My white hair, grown old, and the blossoms alike—on this day of the royal progress, both look like snow.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1461

Headnote: "Composed when poems on blossoms were presented the day after Retired Emperor Shirakawa made a progress to the house of the Kyōgoku Former Chancellor."
This is the eleventh poem of the sequence on the cherry. On the day of the royal progress, the poet's aged white hair and the blossoms both look like snow. According to the headnote, it was composed when poems on blossoms were presented the day after Retired Emperor Shirakawa visited the house of the Kyōgoku Former Chancellor.
The author, "the Horikawa Minister of the Left," is Minamoto no Toshifusa. The son of Minister of the Right Minamoto no Morofusa, he rose to Minister of the Left.
The "Kyōgoku Former Chancellor" of the headnote is Fujiwara no Morozane. The son of Regent Fujiwara no Yorimichi, he served as Regent, Chancellor, and Grand Minister.

The first line, "oinikeru," uses the perfective "ni" and the past "keru" to mean "having grown wholly old."
The second line, "shiraga mo hana mo," sets the poet's white hair beside the white blossoms. The white of age and the white of the blossoms are laid together.
The third line, "morotomo ni," means "together" or "alike." It leads to the white hair and blossoms both appearing as snow.
In the fourth line, "kyō no miyuki ni," "miyuki" plays on "miyuki," an imperial outing, and "miyuki," deep snow. It inherits the wordplay on "miyuki" that has continued since 1453 in this book.
In the last line, "yuki to miekeri," "keri" expresses the exclamation of sudden realization. Drawing the word "yuki" out of "miyuki" in the fourth line, it says that white hair and blossoms alike look like snow, showing the joy of an aged man taking part in the splendor of the royal visit.
Author: Minamoto no Toshifusa
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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