Aratama no toshi o watarite aru ga ue ni furitsumu yuki no taenu Shirayama - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あらたまの年を渡りてあるが上に
降り積む雪の絶えぬ白山

Roma-ji: Aratama no toshi o watarite aru ga ue ni furitsumu yuki no taenu Shirayama
English Translation: Through the new-hewn years
lasting on, and upon it
falling, piling up,
the snow that never ceases—
Mount Shirayama
Meaning: Mount Shirayama, where the snow that has lasted through the years is ever covered by fresh snow, never ceasing.
Commentary: Book Eight Winter Poems 482

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet sings of Mount Shirayama, where fresh snow never ceases to fall upon the snow that has lasted through the years. The figure of Shirayama, whose snow never melts all year, is conveyed through snow laid down over snow across the years.
470 in this book also sings of the snow on Shirayama, and 499 sings of the white peaks of Koshi, so that Shirayama is sung again and again as a famous place for snow.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Aratama no," is a pillow word modifying "toshi," year.
The second line, "toshi o watarite," means "lasting across the years."
The third line, "aru ga ue ni," means "upon the snow that remains."
The fourth line, "furitsumu yuki no," means "the snow that falls and piles up."
The last line, "taenu Shirayama," means "Mount Shirayama, never without it," closing the poem with a noun. It sings of the same mountain as "Shirayama ni" in the first line of 470.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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