Harugasumi tateru o mireba aratama no toshi wa yama yori koyuru narikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春霞立てるを見れば荒玉の
年は山より越ゆるなりけり

Roma-ji: Harugasumi tateru o mireba aratama no toshi wa yama yori koyuru narikeri
English Translation: When I see the haze
of springtime rising above,
I know that the year,
the new year, comes to us here
by crossing over the hills.
Meaning: Watching the spring haze rise, I realize that the new year comes to us by crossing over the mountains.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 2

Headnote: "A poem for a folding screen at the time of the celebration for the Empress in the fourth year of Jōhei"
Seeing the spring haze rising over the mountains, the poet realizes that the new year must come by crossing over them. The conceit lies in grasping the invisible arrival of the year through something visible, the haze clinging to the peaks. According to the headnote, the poem accompanied a folding screen made for the celebration held for Empress Fujiwara no Onshi in the fourth year of Jōhei, and it greets the new year brightly, as befits a festive occasion.
Ki no Fumimoto was a poet of the mid-Heian period; little is known of his life.

First line, "harugasumi," is the spring haze that heralds the season. It appears in this book in poems such as 3, 42 and 74, and is central among the images of spring.
Second line, "tateru o mireba," means "when I see it rising," with "ba" marking an established condition that leads to the realization in the second half.
Third line, "aratama no," is a pillow word that modifies "toshi" (year).
Fourth line, "toshi wa yama yori," says the new year comes from the direction of the mountains. Following the preceding poem, which saw the beginning of spring in the haze over the mountains, it treats the haze as the trail left by the advancing year.
Final line, "koyuru narikeri," expresses the wonder of realizing that the year comes crossing the mountains; "keri" is an auxiliary of exclamation.
Author: Ki no Fumimoto
Source: Shui Wakashu
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