Uchinabiku haru no yanagi to wa ga yado no ume no hana to o ika ni ka wakamu

うち靡く春の柳と我がやどの
梅の花とをいかにか分かむ

Roma-ji: Uchinabiku haru no yanagi to wa ga yado no ume no hana to o ika ni ka wakamu
English Translation: Swaying in the breeze,
the willow tree of springtime,
and in my garden
the blossoms of the plum tree —
how could I tell which is best?
Meaning: The spring willow swaying in the breeze and the plum blossoms in my garden: how could I ever choose between them?
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 826

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirty-two poems on plum blossoms, with preface"
The poet says there is no telling which is finer, the willow swaying in the spring breeze or the plum blossoms in the garden. Taking up the surrounding poems that pair plum and willow, he praises both as lovely sights of spring.
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 "Senior Clerk Fuhito-shi Ōhara"; the Senior Clerk was the higher of Dazaifu's clerks.
The poet, Fuhito no Ōhara, was an official serving as Senior Clerk of Dazaifu. His clan is thought to be one of the scribal lineages, but this is not certain.

First line, "uchinabiku": swaying, also used as a pillow word for spring; here it doubles as the actual sight of swaying willows.
Second line, "haru no yanagi to": names the willow as a sight of spring.
Third line, "wa ga yado no": the garden of the house where the banquet is held.
Fourth line, "ume no hana to o": sets willow and plum side by side for comparison.
Fifth line, "ika ni ka wakamu": the particle "ka" is resolved by "mu": how could I tell them apart? One cannot, and so both are praised.
Author: Fuhito no Ōhara
Source: Manyoshu
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