Haru tatsu to iu bakari ni ya miyoshino no yama mo kasumite kesa wa miyuran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春立つといふばかりにや三吉野の
山も霞みて今朝は見ゆらん

Roma-ji: Haru tatsu to iu bakari ni ya miyoshino no yama mo kasumite kesa wa miyuran
English Translation: Is it only because
they say that spring has arrived
that fair Yoshino's
mountains too are veiled in haze
as they appear this morning?
Meaning: Is it simply because it is said that spring has begun that even the mountains of Yoshino seem wrapped in haze this morning?
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 1

Headnote: "Composed for the poetry contest held at the house of Taira no Sadafumi"
Simply because spring has officially begun, the poet wonders, even the snowy mountains of Yoshino look veiled in haze this morning. The poem links the calendar's spring to a visible change in the landscape, capturing the surprise of feeling that the mere announcement of spring has transformed the mountain. It stands at the very head of the Shūishū. According to the headnote, it was submitted to a poetry contest held at the house of Taira no Sadafumi.
Mibu no Tadamine was a poet of the early Heian period and one of the compilers of the Kokinshū. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and was the father of Mibu no Tadami.
The poem was also included in the "Risshun" (beginning of spring) section of the Wakan Rōeishū and is widely known as a representative poem on the arrival of spring.

First line, "Haru tatsu to," refers to the arrival of spring by the calendar. It corresponds to the final poem of the book, 78, which sings of the last day of spring drawing to its close, so that the book is framed by the morning of spring's beginning and the evening of its end.
Second line, "iu bakari ni ya," means "merely because it is said to be the start of spring." The particle "ya" poses a question and is resolved by "ran" in the final line, forming a kakari-musubi construction.
Third line, "miyoshino no," is an elegant way of naming Yoshino, a famous place in Yamato; "mi" is an honorific prefix. Choosing Yoshino, known for its deep snow, sharpens the turn from winter to spring, and the line becomes the starting point for later Yoshino poems in this book such as 4 and 9.
Fourth line, "yama mo kasumite," describes the spring haze hanging over the mountains. The particle "mo" adds the sense that not only the calendar but even the mountains have turned spring-like.
Final line, "kesa wa miyuran," limits the scene to the morning of the first day of spring. The auxiliary "ran" expresses conjecture about the present, as the poet wonders at the cause of the haze before him, and it closes the construction begun by "ya" in the second line.
Author: Mibu no Tadamine
Source: Shui Wakashu
Next Poem: Harugasumi tateru o mireba aratama no toshi wa yama yori koyuru narikeri