Matsu ga e no tsuchi ni tsuku made furu yuki o mizute ya imo ga komori oruramu

松が枝の土に着くまで降る雪を
見ずてや妹が隠り居るらむ

Roma-ji: Matsu ga e no tsuchi ni tsuku made furu yuki o mizute ya imo ga komori oruramu
English Translation: Till the pine branches
bow down and touch the earth
the snow falls and falls;
without seeing it, does she
stay shut away in her room?
Meaning: The snow falls until the pine branches bend down to touch the ground; is she shut away indoors, never seeing it?
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4439

Headnote: "A poem on snow composed in response to the command by the court lady Ishikawa no Ason, when the sovereign went to the well of the Yukei guards on a winter day," with a note: "Her personal name was Ōba."
Does she stay shut away, never seeing the snow that falls till the pine boughs touch the ground? The poem thinks of an ailing princess. The left note says that Princess Mohitori, being unwell, had not come to court for many days, so the retired sovereign ordered her ladies to compose poems on snow to send to the princess. While the others could not manage it, Lady Ishikawa alone presented this poem. Further, this and three other poems were recited and passed on by Ōhara no Imaki, and the year and month are unknown.
The author, Ishikawa no Ōba, was a woman of the Ishikawa clan who served the retired Empress Genshō as a court lady.

The first line, "matsu ga e no," refers to pine boughs bowed by the weight of snow.
The second line, "tsuchi ni tsuku made," "till they touch the ground," shows the depth of the snow.
The third line, "furu yuki o," "the falling snow," takes up snow, the subject of the command.
The fourth line, "mizute ya imo ga," uses the interrogative ya, resolved by the attributive ramu at the close; imo affectionately refers to Princess Mohitori.
The closing line, "komori oruramu," with ramu, present conjecture, ends by thinking of the sick princess: is she shut away indoors?
Author: Ishikawa no Ōba
Source: Manyoshu
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