Yamakaze no hana no ka kadou fumoto ni wa haru no kasumi zo hodashi nari keru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

山風の花の香かどふ麓には
春の霞ぞほだしなりける

Roma-ji: Yamakaze no hana no ka kadou fumoto ni wa haru no kasumi zo hodashi nari keru
English Translation: The mountain wind
steals the fragrance of the flowers,
yet down at the foot
the haze of spring, I find,
is the tether holding them
Meaning: At the foot of the mountain, where the mountain wind steals the blossoms' fragrance and carries it down, the spring haze, I realize, is the tether that keeps the flowers from sight.
Commentary: Book Two Spring Poems II 73

Headnote: "In the Kanpyō era, when the emperor commanded poems on the theme that the haze shuts in the flowers' color and does not let it be seen."
The mountain wind carries the blossoms' scent down to the foot of the mountain, yet their color stays hidden in the haze; the poet likens the haze to a tether holding the flowers back. The frustration of scent arriving while the form remains unseen is expressed with wit.
According to the headnote, it was composed when, in the Kanpyō era of Emperor Uda, the emperor ordered poems on the theme that the haze shuts in the color of the flowers and will not let it be seen.
The poet, Fujiwara no Okikaze, was a son of Fujiwara no Michinari and served as a provincial secretary in Sagami and elsewhere. He also excelled at music and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
In the Kokin Wakashū there is a poem by Yoshimine no Munesada that shares both the wording of this theme and the idea of the mountain wind bearing the scent, bidding the spring mountain wind at least steal the fragrance though the haze hides the flowers' color.

The first line, "Yamakaze no," names the wind blowing down from the mountain.
In the second line, "kadou" means to abduct or carry off, showing the mountain wind stealing the flowers' scent down to the foot.
The third line, "fumoto ni wa," points to the base of the flowering mountain, where only the scent arrives.
In the fourth line, "zo" forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the attributive "keru" of the last line. 63 of this book also pairs haze with the color of blossoms.
In the last line, "hodashi" is a rope hobbling a horse's legs, hence anything that restrains; it expresses the realization that the haze was a fetter shutting the flowers in.
Author: Fujiwara no Okikaze
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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