Umegae ni furikakarite zo shirayuki no hana no tayori ni oraru beranaru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

梅が枝に降りかかりてぞ白雪の
花のたよりに折らるべらなる

Roma-ji: Umegae ni furikakarite zo shirayuki no hana no tayori ni oraru beranaru
English Translation: On the plum branches
because it has fallen there,
the white snow, it seems,
along with the blossoms too
is broken off by the hand.
Meaning: Because it has fallen on the plum branches, the white snow, it seems, is broken off along with the blossoms whenever they are picked.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 13

Headnote: "Among the poems presented by imperial command in the reign of Engi"
White snow that has fallen on a plum branch, the poet says, gets broken off along with the blossoms whenever someone picks them. The scene of snow and flowers overlapping on a single branch is drawn through the gesture of the one who breaks it off. According to the headnote, it is one of the poems presented by imperial command in the Engi era of Emperor Daigo.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its kana preface. Known also as the author of the Tosa Diary, he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "umegae ni," means "on the plum branch"; taking up the plum blossoms lost in snow in the preceding poem, it shifts attention to the snow on the branch.
Second line, "furikakarite zo," sets the particle "zo," which is resolved in the final line by the attributive "beranaru."
Third line, "shirayuki no," presents the snow as subject, suggesting the overlap of white plum and white snow.
Fourth line, "hana no tayori ni," means "as an occasion of the flowers," that is, when the blossoms are broken off.
Final line, "oraru beranaru," with "ru" as passive and "beranari" as an auxiliary of conjecture, means "it seems to be broken off together with the blossoms," closing in the attributive form in response to "zo."
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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