Ume ga e ni nakite utsurou uguisu no hane shirotae ni awayuki zo furu

梅が枝に鳴きて移ろふ鴬の
羽白妙に沫雪ぞ降る

Roma-ji: Ume ga e ni nakite utsurou uguisu no hane shirotae ni awayuki zo furu
English Translation: On the plum's branches
singing as it flits along,
the warbler's feathers
white as snow-white linen now—
the foam-like snow is falling.
Meaning: Upon the wings of the bush warbler that sings as it flits among the plum branches, the soft, foam-like snow is falling, turning them pure white.
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1840

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Snow"
This poem depicts soft snow falling white upon the wings of a bush warbler as it sings and flits among the plum branches. Gathering plum, warbler, and snow into one poem, it vividly contrasts the color of the bird's wings with the whiteness of the snow. It adds the spring snow of this group to the pairing of plum and warbler seen in 1820.

The first line, "on the plum's branch," leads into the pairing of plum and warbler.
The second line, "singing as it moves," uses "utsurou," to shift from place to place, depicting the warbler's movement.
The third line, "the warbler's," leads into "wings." The warbler, sung throughout as the bird of spring, here meets the snow.
In the fourth line, "hane shirotae ni," "shirotae" means white cloth and by extension the color white, showing the wings turned white by snow.
In the last line, "awayuki zo furu," "zo" is an emphatic particle in kakari-musubi with the attributive "furu," highlighting the soft, fleeting snow of spring.
Source: Manyoshu
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