Hito goto ni orikazashitsutsu asobedomo iya mezurashiki ume no hana kamo

人ごとに折りかざしつつ遊べども
いやめづらしき梅の花かも

Roma-ji: Hito goto ni orikazashitsutsu asobedomo iya mezurashiki ume no hana kamo
English Translation: Every one of us
breaks a sprig to wear and plays,
and though we play on,
ever fresher to the eye
are these blossoms of the plum
Meaning: Each of us breaks off sprays to wear in our hair and plays, yet these plum blossoms only grow more delightful the more we look.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 828

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirty-two poems on plum blossoms, with preface"
The poet says that though everyone has broken off plum sprigs to wear and play with, the blossoms only grow more captivating. Depicting the whole company delighting in the plum, he praises a charm that stays fresh however often it is seen.
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 "Chief Judge Ni-shi Maro"; the Chief Judge handled legal cases at Dazaifu, and whether "Ni" stands for the Tajihi, Tanba, or another clan is unsettled.
The poet, Nishi no Maro, was an official serving as Chief Judge of Dazaifu.

First line, "hito goto ni": "each person," taking in the whole company at once.
Second line, "orikazashitsutsu": breaking sprigs to wear in the hair; the same line appears in 843.
Third line, "asobedomo": adversative, "though we have played," turning to what follows. Poem 836 places the same word in its third line.
Fourth line, "iya mezurashiki": "iya" means ever more, and "mezurashi" something one never tires of.
Fifth line, "ume no hana kamo": "kamo" exclaims, closing with admiration entrusted to the noun.
Author: Nishi no Maro
Source: Manyoshu
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