Uguisu no nakishi kakitsu ni nioerishi ume kono yuki ni utsurouramu ka

鴬の鳴きし垣内ににほへりし
梅この雪にうつろふらむか

Roma-ji: Uguisu no nakishi kakitsu ni nioerishi ume kono yuki ni utsurouramu ka
English Translation: Where the warblers sang
within the hedge's border,
blooming bright and fair,
the plum, in this falling snow—
will it fade and fall, I wonder?
Meaning: The plum that bloomed so bright within the hedge where the warblers sang—will it fade and fall in this snow?
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4287

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the eleventh day a heavy snow fell and lay a foot and two inches deep. So I expressed my humble feelings in three poems"
Closing the three poems of the day of heavy snow, it worries whether the plum that bloomed so beautifully within the hedge where warblers sang will fall in this snow. Taking up the warblers of the preceding poem, it grieves that spring's plum may be spoiled by snow.
From the first poem cherishing the snow, through the second contrasting it with signs of spring, to the third concerned for spring flowers, the sequence traces the poet's shifting feelings on the day of heavy snow.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. Appointed Junior Counselor in 751, he returned from Etchū to the capital at Heijō-kyō, where he took part in court banquets as an official. He is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "uguisu no" (where the warblers), repeats the bird of the preceding poem.
Second line, "nakishi kakitsu ni" (sang within the hedge): "kakitsu" is the enclosed grounds within a hedge.
Third line, "nioerishi" (that bloomed so bright): "niou" means to bloom in beauty.
Fourth line, "ume kono yuki ni" (the plum, in this snow), is hypermetric, setting plum against snow.
Fifth line, "utsurouramu ka" (will it fade?): "ramu" is present conjecture.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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