Yuki no ue ni tereru tsukuyo ni ume no hana orite okuramu hashiki ko mo ga mo

雪の上に照れる月夜に梅の花
折りて送らむはしき子もがも

Roma-ji: Yuki no ue ni tereru tsukuyo ni ume no hana orite okuramu hashiki ko mo ga mo
English Translation: On a moonlit night
shining down upon the snow,
a sprig of plum blossoms
I would pluck and send—if only
I had someone dear to me.
Meaning: On a night when the moon shines on the snow, how I wish I had someone dear to whom I could send a sprig of plum blossoms.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4134

Headnote: "A poem on snow, moon, and plum blossoms at a banquet."
The poet wishes he had a beloved to whom he could send a sprig of plum blossoms on a night when moonlight shines upon the snow. Composed at a banquet on the given themes of snow, moon, and plum blossoms, it lays upon a beautiful winter night of pure white the loneliness of having no one to share it with.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū.
The left note reads, "The poem above was composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi in the twelfth month." As a poem combining snow, moon, and plum blossoms, it is known as an early example leading to the later aesthetic of "snow, moon, and flowers."

First line, "yuki no ue ni": it begins with the snow lying everywhere, presenting the theme "snow."
Second line, "tereru tsukuyo ni": "tsukuyo" means moonlight or a moonlit night. Moonlight gleams on the snow, presenting the theme "moon."
Third line, "ume no hana": presenting the theme "plum blossoms," it completes three white things: snow, moon, and plum.
Fourth line, "orite okuramu": "mu" is softening, "to pluck and send."
Last line, "hashiki ko mo ga mo": "hashiki" means dear, and "mo ga mo" is a particle of wishing, ending "if only I had a beloved." The loneliness of lacking someone to show this lovely scene seeps through.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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