Ware wa kesa ui ni zo mitsuru hana no iro o ada naru mono to iu bekarikeri - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我はけさうひにぞ見つる花の色を
あだなるものといふべかりけり

Roma-ji: Ware wa kesa ui ni zo mitsuru hana no iro o ada naru mono to iu bekarikeri
English Translation: This morning I saw
for the first time ever
this flower's color—
truly it is something
we should call fleeting and frail.
Meaning: This morning I saw it for the very first time: the color of this flower is what we ought to call fleeting and inconstant.
Commentary: Book Ten Names of Things 436

Headnote: "Rose"
This poem says that, having seen the flower for the first time this morning, the speaker realizes its color is what should truly be called fleeting. The title "sōbi" (rose) is hidden in "kesa ui ni" across the first and second lines. The rose was then regarded as a rare flower from abroad, and the poem overlays the vividness of a color seen for the first time with a sense of its transience.
The poet, "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. A son of Ki no Mochiyuki, he was the leading compiler of the Kokinshu and wrote its Kana Preface. He is also known as the author of the Tosa Diary.

First line "Ware wa kesa" means "I, this morning," and the title begins with the "sa" of "kesa."
Second line "ui ni zo mitsuru" means "saw for the first time." With the first line, "kesa ui" hides the title "sōbi." It closes in the attributive "tsuru" in answer to "zo," and the poem pauses here.
Third line "hana no iro o" means "the color of the flower," naming the object of the judgment that follows.
Fourth line "ada naru mono to" uses "adanari," meaning fleeting or inconstant.
Fifth line "iu bekarikeri" means "I should have called it so," with "keri" expressing the sigh of a realization gained at a single glance this morning.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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