Waga yado no ume no hatsuhana hiru wa yuki yoru wa tsuki to mo miemagau kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我が宿の梅の初花昼は雪
夜は月とも見えまがふかな

Roma-ji: Waga yado no ume no hatsuhana hiru wa yuki yoru wa tsuki to mo miemagau kana
English Translation: Of my own house
the first blossoms of the plum—
by day they are snow,
and by night, the moon as well,
so like them do they appear
Meaning: The first plum blossoms at my house look like snow by day and like moonlight by night, so easily are they mistaken.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 26

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
The whiteness of the first plum blossoms at the poet's home is mistaken for snow by day and for moonlight by night. Pairing day and night, the poem heightens the pure beauty of white plum.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Of my own house," means "at my home." Like 23 in this book, it begins "the first plum blossoms of my house."
The second line, "the first blossoms of the plum," names the first plum flowers of the year. The first blossoms that 23 would break off are here admired for their beauty.
The third line, "by day they are snow," shows the white plum looking like snow in daylight, forming a parallel with "by night, the moon" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "and by night, the moon as well," says that at night they also seem like moonlight.
In the last line, "miemagau" means to be mistaken for something, and "kana" expresses a sigh.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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