Harusame no hana no e yori nagarekoba nao koso nureme ka mo ya utsuru to - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春雨の花の枝より流れ来ば
なほこそ濡れめ香もや移ると

Roma-ji: Harusame no hana no e yori nagarekoba nao koso nureme ka mo ya utsuru to
English Translation: If the rain of spring
should come flowing down to me
from the flowering boughs,
all the more I'll let it soak me,
hoping their scent will pass to me
Meaning: If the spring rain comes flowing down from the blossoming branches, I will let it drench me all the more, in hope that their fragrance will cling to me.
Commentary: Book Three Spring Poems III 110

Headnote: "In the Kanpyō era, when there was a cherry blossom banquet and it rained."
Not minding the spring rain that fell on the flower-viewing feast, the poet says that if it runs down the blossoming boughs, he will let himself be drenched all the more, hoping to catch their fragrance. It shows an elegant spirit that turns even rain into a gift of the flowers.
According to the headnote, it was composed when it rained at a cherry blossom banquet in the Kanpyō era of Emperor Uda. It shares its conceit with 56 of Book Two, which resolves to be drenched in the dew of the blossoms.
The poet, Fujiwara no Toshiyuki, was a son of Fujiwara no Fujimaro and served as Head Chamberlain and Commander of the Right Military Guards among other posts. He was also renowned as a calligrapher and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

The first line, "Harusame no," presents the spring rain falling on the banquet.
The second line, "hana no e yori," means "down along the blossoming boughs."
In the third line, "ba" is conditional: "if it comes flowing down."
In the fourth line, "koso" forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the perfective "me": "all the more I will be drenched." The poem pauses here. It also shares the word "nuru," to be wet, with "nureginu" in 98 of this book.
In the last line, "ya" is interrogative: "in case the fragrance clings to me," an inversion giving the reason for getting wet.
Author: Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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