Itsushika to yama no sakura mo waga gotoku toshi no konata ni haru o matsuran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いつしかと山の桜もわがごとく
年のこなたに春を待つらん

Roma-ji: Itsushika to yama no sakura mo waga gotoku toshi no konata ni haru o matsuran
English Translation: "How soon, how soon?"—
the mountain cherries too,
just as I do,
on this side of the year's end
must be waiting for the spring
Meaning: Impatiently, the mountain cherries too, like me, must be waiting for spring even before the year has turned.
Commentary: Book Eight Winter Poems 498

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that the mountain cherries too, like himself, must be waiting impatiently for spring even before the year has turned. He extends his own longing for spring to the mountain cherries.
Following the preceding poem, it sings of waiting for spring. 505 in this book also closes with "haru o matsu kana," so that poems awaiting spring at the year's end continue toward the end of the book.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Itsushika to," means "how soon, how soon," expressing impatient waiting.
The second line, "yama no sakura mo," means "the mountain cherries too."
The third line, "waga gotoku," means "just as I do."
The fourth line, "toshi no konata ni," means "on this side of the year's end, within the year."
In the last line, "ran" is an auxiliary of present conjecture: "they must be waiting for spring." It uses the same words as "haru o matsu kana," which closes 505 in this book.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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