Ume no hana ima sakari nari omou dochi kazashi ni shite na ima sakari nari

梅の花今盛りなり思ふどち
かざしにしてな今盛りなり

Roma-ji: Ume no hana ima sakari nari omou dochi kazashi ni shite na ima sakari nari
English Translation: The plum blossoms
now are at their very best;
friends of one heart,
let us wear them in our hair —
now they are at their very best
Meaning: The plum blossoms are at their peak. Friends, let us wear them in our hair, for now they are at their peak.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 820

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirty-two poems on plum blossoms, with preface"
With the plums at their peak, the poet invites his close companions to wear them in their hair. Repeating "now they are at their peak" in the second and last lines, borrowing the rhythm of old folk songs, it frankly conveys the elation of the feast.
This is one of the thirty-two poems of the Plum Blossom Banquet, held on the thirteenth day of the first month of Tenpyō 2, when officials of Dazaifu and provincial governors of Kyushu gathered at the residence of the Governor-General Ōtomo no Tabito and composed poems on the plum trees in his garden. The Chinese preface describes how, in the auspicious first month of early spring, the air was fine and the breeze gentle, the plums opened white like face powder before a mirror, and the orchids gave off a scent like a perfume sachet; it is also famous as the source of the era name Reiwa. The preface closes by proposing that, just as Chinese poetry has its pieces on falling plum blossoms, the company should compose short poems on the garden plums. The poem is signed "Fujii, Governor of Chikugo."
The poet, Fujii no Ōnari, was an official of the Fujii clan, of immigrant descent, and served at the time as Governor of Chikugo.

First line, "ume no hana": a call to the banquet's theme.
Second line, "ima sakari nari": "now in full bloom"; the poem breaks here. Poem 834 opens with the same two lines, and the later reply 850 also uses this line.
Third line, "omou dochi": companions of one heart, the people gathered at the feast.
Fourth line, "kazashi ni shite na": a "kazashi" is a sprig worn in the hair, and "na" invites: let us do so.
Fifth line, "ima sakari nari": repeats the second line, creating a song-like rhythm and heightening the joy at the close.
Author: Fujii no Ōnari
Source: Manyoshu
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