Fuyu sugite haru shi kitareba toshitsuki wa arata naredomo hito wa furiyuku

冬過ぎて春し来れば年月は
新たなれども人は古りゆく

Roma-ji: Fuyu sugite haru shi kitareba toshitsuki wa arata naredomo hito wa furiyuku
English Translation: Winter now is past,
and when spring comes round again
the months and the years
are made new, and yet it is
people who grow old and worn.
Meaning: When winter has passed and spring comes, the years and months are made new—but people only grow older.
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1884

Headnote: "Lamenting What Has Grown Old"
This poem laments that each time winter passes and spring arrives, the years and months are renewed, yet people grow old and worn. It sets out clearly the contrast between nature's time, which comes round anew, and human life, which passes in only one direction. The poem stands at the head of the group headed "Lamenting What Has Grown Old." Like "every year the plum blossoms bloom" in 1857, it is a lament contrasting nature's cycle with human aging.

The first line, "winter has passed," is the same opening as 1844.
In the second line, "haru shi kitareba," "shi" is an emphatic particle, strongly marking spring's arrival.
The third line, "the years and months," marks the theme, taking up time that comes round anew.
In the fourth line, "arata naredomo," "domo" is adversative, the turning point contrasting time and people.
In the last line, "hito wa furiyuku," "furu" means to grow old and "yuku" to proceed gradually, closing with a lament for people growing old.
Source: Manyoshu
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