Furu yuki no minoshiro goromo uchiki tsutsu haru ki ni keri to odorokare nuru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

降る雪のみのしろ衣うちきつつ
春来にけりと驚かれぬる

Roma-ji: Furu yuki no minoshiro goromo uchiki tsutsu haru ki ni keri to odorokare nuru
English Translation: The falling snow's
cloak to stand in for a raincoat
I put on and wear,
and "Spring has come!" I find myself
suddenly startled to know
Meaning: Wrapping myself in the white robe bestowed on me, a garment to shield me from the falling snow as a straw raincoat would, I was startled into realizing that spring had truly come.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 1

Headnote: "On the first day of the First Month, on receiving a white great robe at the palace of the Nijō Empress."
This poem conveys the surprise and joy the poet felt when he put on a white robe granted to him at the residence of the Nijō Empress on New Year's Day. Layering the whiteness of the falling snow over the whiteness of the robe, he expresses his fresh realization that spring has come even amid the snow. As the opening poem of the Gosen Wakashū, it joins the felicity of the New Year to the joy of spring's arrival.
According to the headnote, the poem was composed when he received a white great robe as a reward at the palace of the Nijō Empress on the first day of the year. The Nijō Empress was Fujiwara no Takaiko, consort of Emperor Seiwa and mother of Emperor Yōzei.
The poet, Fujiwara no Toshiyuki, was an early Heian poet and the son of Fujiwara no Fujimaro. He rose to Commander of the Right Military Guards, was celebrated as a calligrapher, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

The first line, "The falling snow's," presents the snow coming down from the sky and draws out the whiteness of the robe that follows. This opening poem, together with the closing poem of the book, 46, belongs to a scene of celebration, so that the book both opens and closes with a poem of congratulation.
The second line, "minoshiro goromo," means a garment worn in place of a straw raincoat, and refers to the white great robe given as protection against the snow.
The third line, "uchiki tsutsu," is a pivot word joining "uchi-kiru," to put on a garment, with "uchiki," the robe he was given. "Tsutsu" marks continuing action.
In the fourth line, "Spring has come," the auxiliary "keri" expresses the sigh of a sudden realization. The idea of sensing spring's arrival within the snow is carried on in the next poem, 2.
In the last line, "odorokare nuru," the auxiliary "re" is spontaneous, conveying the feeling of being startled in spite of oneself. Ending on the attributive form "nuru" leaves a lingering resonance.
Author: Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Next Poem: Haru tatsu to kiki tsuru kara ni Kasugayama kie aenu yuki no hana to miyu ramu