Imo ga e ni yuki kamo furu to miru made ni kokoda mo magau ume no hana kamo

妹が家に雪かも降ると見るまでに
ここだもまがふ梅の花かも

Roma-ji: Imo ga e ni yuki kamo furu to miru made ni kokoda mo magau ume no hana kamo
English Translation: At my darling's house
can it be snow that's falling?
So one might believe,
so thickly they swirl about,
these blossoms of the plum
Meaning: So thickly do the plum blossoms swirl that one would think snow was falling on my beloved's house.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 844

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirty-two poems on plum blossoms, with preface"
The poet says the plum blossoms swirl so thickly that one might think snow was falling on his beloved's house. Using the snow conceit, he adds a note of romance by calling to mind her home.
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 "Ono-shi Kunikata," with no office given.
The poet, Ono no Kunikata, was of the Ono clan; his office is not recorded.

First line, "imo ga e ni": "imo ga e" is the home of the woman he loves.
Second line, "yuki kamo furu to": "kamo" poses a question, the mind taking the petals for falling snow.
Third line, "miru made ni": "so much that one sees them so," marking the degree of likeness, like 839's "so that people take them."
Fourth line, "kokoda mo magau": "kokoda" means greatly, and "magau" to mingle until indistinguishable.
Fifth line, "ume no hana kamo": the same line as the last of 828, closing with admiration for the plum through the exclamation "kamo."
Author: Ono no Kunikata
Source: Manyoshu
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