Aratashiki toshi no hajime wa iyatoshi ni yuki fuminarashi tsune kaku ni mo ga

新しき年の初めはいや年に
雪踏み平し常かくにもが

Roma-ji: Aratashiki toshi no hajime wa iyatoshi ni yuki fuminarashi tsune kaku ni mo ga
English Translation: At the beginning
of every new year that comes,
ever and again,
treading down the snow like this—
would it were always so
Meaning: At the start of each new year, year after year, may we tread down the snow and gather like this—may it always be so.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4229

Headnote: "Tenpyō Shōhō 3"
Composed at a banquet at the governor's residence on the second day of the first month of 751, it wishes that every New Year the company might tread down the snow and gather like this, always so. It is a poem of celebration for the New Year's banquet with provincial officials who gathered through heavy snow.
The left note says, "On the second day of the first month there was a banquet at the governor's residence. The snow that fell was especially deep, four feet. The host, Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi, composed this poem," telling us the banquet took place with four feet of snow on the ground. Snow was also seen as an omen of a good harvest, and the poem carries a sense of blessing in advance.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. From 746 he served as Governor of Etchū, living at the provincial headquarters in what is now Fushiki, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. He is regarded as the leading poet of the Nara period and is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "aratashiki" (new), opens with the fresh mood of the New Year.
Second line, "toshi no hajime wa" (at the year's beginning), presents the theme, the New Year's banquet.
Third line, "iyatoshi ni" (year after year, ever more): "iya" means more and more, stressing the yearly repetition.
Fourth line, "yuki fuminarashi" (treading the snow flat), depicts gathering for the banquet by tramping down the snow.
Fifth line, "tsune kaku ni mo ga" (would it were always so): "mo ga" expresses a wish.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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