Yamazakura sakinuru toki wa tsune yori mo mine no shirakumo tachimasarikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

山桜咲きぬる時は常よりも
峰の白雲立ちまさりけり

Roma-ji: Yamazakura sakinuru toki wa tsune yori mo mine no shirakumo tachimasarikeri
English Translation: When the mountain cherries
have burst into full bloom,
more than at other times
the white clouds upon the peaks
rise up thicker than before
Meaning: When the mountain cherries bloom, the white clouds on the peaks seem to rise thicker than ever.
Commentary: Book Three Spring Poems III 118

Headnote: "A poem from the Teiji-in Poetry Contest."
When the mountain cherries bloom, the white clouds over the peaks seem to rise more thickly than usual. Likening the blossoms in the hills to white clouds, the poem broadly depicts the peaks covered in full bloom.
According to the headnote, it was composed for the Teiji-in Poetry Contest, which Cloistered Emperor Uda held at the Teiji-in in the thirteenth year of Engi (913).
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Yamazakura," names cherries blooming in the hills. Following the preceding poem, it again pairs mountain cherries with white clouds.
In the second line, "nuru" is perfective: "when they have bloomed."
The third line, "tsune yori mo," means "more than usual." 107 of this book also begins with "Tsune yori mo."
The fourth line, "mine no shirakumo," presents white clouds on the peaks, conveying by likeness that they are really cherry blossoms. White clouds also appear in the preceding poem, 117, and the next, 119.
In the last line, "tachimasaru" means to rise ever more thickly, and "keri" expresses a sigh of realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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