Kinō koso toshi wa kureshika harugasumi kasuga no yama ni haya tachinikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

昨日こそ年は暮れしか春霞
春日の山にはや立ちにけり

Roma-ji: Kinō koso toshi wa kureshika harugasumi kasuga no yama ni haya tachinikeri
English Translation: Just yesterday, yes,
the old year came to its close,
yet the haze of spring
over the hills of Kasuga
has already risen up.
Meaning: The year ended only yesterday, and yet spring haze has already risen over the hills of Kasuga.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 3

Headnote: "Composed on haze"
Though the year ended only yesterday, spring haze already rises over Mount Kasuga today, and the poet marvels at how swiftly the year has turned. The fresh delight of seeing the landscape change to spring overnight is expressed in plain, direct words. According to the headnote, the poem was composed on the topic of haze.
The author, written as Yamabe no Akahito, is the Man'yōshū poet Yamabe no Akahito of the Nara period. He was ranked alongside Kakinomoto no Hitomaro and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
Book Ten of the Man'yōshū contains a poem of nearly identical content by an unknown author. In the Shūishū it is attributed to Akahito.

First line, "kinō koso," uses the emphatic particle "koso," which is resolved by "shika" in the second line in a kakari-musubi construction.
Second line, "toshi wa kureshika," uses "shika," the perfective form of the past auxiliary "ki," carrying a concessive sense, "though the year ended only yesterday," into what follows.
Third line, "harugasumi," takes up spring haze as did the preceding poem, and echoes in sound with "Kasuga" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "kasuga no yama ni," refers to Mount Kasuga in Nara. By choosing a familiar mountain of Yamato, the poet finds spring arriving close at hand.
Final line, "haya tachinikeri," with "haya" meaning "already" and "nikeri" expressing completion and exclamation, shows surprise at how quickly spring has come.
Author: Yamabe no Akahito
Source: Shui Wakashu
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