Uchinabiku haru sarikureba shikasuga ni amakumo kirai yuki wa furitsutsu

うち靡く春さり来ればしかすがに
天雲霧らひ雪は降りつつ

Roma-ji: Uchinabiku haru sarikureba shikasuga ni amakumo kirai yuki wa furitsutsu
English Translation: Grasses bending soft,
now that the spring has come round,
even so, and still
the clouds of heaven hang dim
and the snow keeps falling down.
Meaning: Spring, with its softly bending grasses, has come round, and yet the clouds of heaven hang heavy and the snow goes on falling.
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1832

Headnote: "On Snow"
This poem depicts snow still falling from a clouded sky even though spring has come, and it stands at the head of the group headed "On Snow." With the single word "shikasuga ni," it captures the gap between a heart that awaited spring and a sky that still holds the traces of winter. Where the bird poems sang of spring's joy, the snow poems begin by singing of winter's lingering within spring, so that the arrangement itself enacts the season's backward swing.

The first line, "uchinabiku," is a pillow word attached to "spring." It is the same opening as 1819 and 1830, following the pattern that announces spring's arrival.
The second line, "when spring comes round," repeats the phrasing of the bird group, and the lower lines then turn to an unexpected scene.
The third line, "shikasuga ni," means and yet, marking a contrast. It is the pivot joining spring's arrival and winter's lingering, and is also used in 1834, 1836, and 1848.
The fourth line, "the clouds of heaven hang dim," uses "kirau," meaning that mist or cloud fills the sky and darkens it, with "fu" expressing continuation.
In the last line, "the snow keeps falling," "tsutsu" expresses continuation, leaving the poem suspended with the snow still falling.
Source: Manyoshu
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