Furu yuki ni iro wa magainu ume no hana ka ni koso nitaru mono nakarikere - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

降る雪に色はまがひぬ梅の花
香にこそ似たるものなかりけれ

Roma-ji: Furu yuki ni iro wa magainu ume no hana ka ni koso nitaru mono nakarikere
English Translation: In the falling snow
its color is lost and blurred,
yet, plum blossom, there
is nothing to be found that
resembles your fragrance.
Meaning: In the falling snow your color is lost, plum blossom, but there is nothing at all that resembles your fragrance.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 14

Headnote: "For a folding screen in the same reign"
In the falling snow the color of the plum blossoms can no longer be told apart, yet nothing resembles their fragrance; the poem contrasts color and scent. The conceit is that the plum, indistinguishable from snow to the eye, makes its presence clear through scent. According to the headnote, like the preceding poem it accompanied a screen in the Engi era of Emperor Daigo.
The author, written as Mitsune, is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune. One of the compilers of the Kokinshū, he was ranked alongside Ki no Tsurayuki and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "furu yuki ni," like poem 12 of this book, sings of plum amid snow.
Second line, "iro wa magainu," with "magau" meaning "to become indistinguishable" and "nu" marking completion; the poem pauses after the second line.
Third line, "ume no hana," stands at the pivot connecting color before and scent after.
Fourth line, "ka ni koso nitaru," uses "koso," resolved by the perfective "kere" in the final line, setting scent apart from color.
Final line, "mono nakarikere," expresses the realization that nothing resembles the plum's scent. Whereas poem 13 of this book sang of snow and flowers merging, this poem separates them by scent.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Shui Wakashu
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