Yama no ma ni yuki wa furitsutsu shikasuga ni kono kawayagi wa moenikeru ka mo

山の際に雪は降りつつしかすがに
この川楊は萌えにけるかも

Roma-ji: Yama no ma ni yuki wa furitsutsu shikasuga ni kono kawayagi wa moenikeru ka mo
English Translation: Between the mountains
still the snow is falling down;
even so, and yet
the willows along this stream
have budded into new green.
Meaning: Between the hills the snow keeps falling—and yet these river willows have burst into bud.
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1848

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Willows"
This poem notices that the willows by the river have budded even though snow still falls between the hills. Using "shikasuga ni," so often heard in the snow group, it contrasts the lingering snow of winter with the budding of spring, showing the sureness of the season's turning. It uses the same phrase as "yuki wa furitsutsu shikasuga ni" in 1836, but here the budding willow takes the place of the haze as the sign of spring.

The first line, "between the mountains," is the same opening as 1837.
In the second line, "the snow keeps falling," "tsutsu" marks continuation. It is the same phrase as the last line of 1832 and the second line of 1836.
The third line, "shikasuga ni," means and yet, the adversative word carried over from the snow group.
In the fourth line, "kono kawayagi wa," "kawayagi" is a willow growing by a river, and "kono," this, presents it as the scene before the eyes.
The last line, "has budded," is the ending repeated through the group, closing with wonder at budding amid the snow.
Source: Manyoshu
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