Matsu no ha ni kakareru yuki no sore o koso fuyu no hana to wa iubekarikere - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

松の葉にかかれる雪のそれをこそ
冬の花とは言ふべかりけれ

Roma-ji: Matsu no ha ni kakareru yuki no sore o koso fuyu no hana to wa iubekarikere
English Translation: On the pine needles
the snow that clings there,
that, indeed, is what
we ought to have been calling
the flower of the winter
Meaning: The snow that clings to the pine needles—that indeed is what we ought to call the flower of winter.
Commentary: Book Eight Winter Poems 492

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that the snow clinging to the pine needles is what ought to be called the flower of winter. In flowerless winter, he declares that the snow on the evergreen pine is the true blossom.
475 in this book also sees snow on pine branches as blossoms, and the second line, "kakareru yuki no," uses the same words as "kakareru yuki o" in the fourth line of 475. It is the poem that names the recurring conceit of snow as blossoms "the flower of winter."
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Matsu no ha ni," means "on the pine needles."
The second line, "kakareru yuki no," means "the snow that clings," using the same words as "kakareru yuki o" in the fourth line of 475 in this book.
The third line, "sore o koso," means "that indeed," pointing emphatically to the snow of the second line. The particle "koso" forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the perfective "kere" of the last line.
The fourth line, "fuyu no hana to wa," means "as the flower of winter."
The last line, "iubekarikere," means "is what we ought to have called it," with "kere" the perfective form of the exclamatory auxiliary "keri," expressing realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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