Sakurabana sugiyuku haru no tomo tote ya kaze no oto senu yo ni mo chiruran - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

桜花過ぎゆく春の友とてや
風の音せぬ夜にも散るらん

Roma-ji: Sakurabana sugiyuku haru no tomo tote ya kaze no oto senu yo ni mo chiruran
English Translation: Cherry blossoms, now—
to be companions to the spring
that is passing by,
even on a night without
a sound of wind, do they fall?
Meaning: Do the cherry blossoms mean to keep company with the passing spring, that they fall even on a night when no wind stirs?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1464

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'Blossoms Scattering Without Wind.'"
This is the fourteenth poem of the sequence on the cherry. The poet wonders whether the cherry blossoms, meaning to accompany the passing spring, fall even on a night without a sound of wind. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic "Blossoms Scattering Without Wind."
The author, "Major Counselor Tadanori," was the son of Regent Fujiwara no Morozane. He rose to Major Counselor.
"Blossoms Scattering Without Wind" is a topic on blossoms falling though there is no wind.

The first line, "sakurabana," first presents the falling cherry. Turning from the "blossoms that know not how to scatter" of the preceding poem, it sings of blossoms that actually fall.
The second line, "sugiyuku haru no," refers to the departing spring. It corresponds to "kureyuku haru mo," the second line of 1463 in this book, in singing of spring's end.
The third line, "tomo tote ya," means "as companions," and the particle "ya" expresses a question. The falling blossoms are likened to friends accompanying the departing spring.
The fourth line, "kaze no oto senu," puts the windlessness of the topic into words. The reason the blossoms fall without wind is said to be their wish to be spring's companions.
The last line, "yo ni mo chiruran," closes the kakari-musubi of the particle "ya" with the attributive form "ran." Whereas the two preceding poems sang of blossoms that do not fall, this poem sings of blossoms that fall even without wind, reversing the mood of the sequence.
Author: Fujiwara no Tadanori
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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