霜雪もいまだ過ぎねば思はぬに
春日の里に梅の花見つ
春日の里に梅の花見つ
- Roma-ji
-
Shimoyuki mo imada sugineba omowanu ni kasuga no sato ni ume no hana mitsu
- English Translation
-
Though frost and snow
have not yet passed away,
all unexpected,
in the village of Kasuga
I saw the plum in flower
- Meaning
- Though frost and snow have not yet passed, unexpectedly I saw plum blossoms in the village of Kasuga.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1434
Headnote: "A poem on the plum by Ōtomo no Sukune Mihayashi"
The poet sings of the surprise and joy of unexpectedly meeting plum blossoms in the village of Kasuga while frost and snow still lingered. In simple words it captures the plum announcing spring early amid the remnants of winter.
The author, Ōtomo no Mihayashi, is thought to have been a member of the Ōtomo clan, but nothing more is known of his career.
The first line sets frost and snow, the remnants of winter, side by side.
In the second line, "neba" here has the concessive sense of "though not yet," showing that winter has not yet gone.
The third line, "unexpectedly," shows his surprise at meeting the plum.
The fourth line names the village at the foot of Mount Kasuga in Nara. In this book, 1437 and 1438 that follow also sing of "the plum blossoms of the village of Kasuga," so poems on the plums of Kasuga stand in a row.
The final line, with the perfective "tsu," states firmly that he did see them. The joy of finding spring within winter shows through concisely.
- Author
- Ōtomo no Mihayashi
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Uchinoboru saho no kawara no aoyagi wa ima wa harube to narinikeru kamo
- Next Poem
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Kawazu naku kamunabigawa ni kage miete ima ka sakuramu yamabuki no hana