Nobe mireba wakana tsumikeri ube shi koso kakine no kusa mo harumekinikere - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

野辺見れば若菜摘みけりむべしこそ
垣根の草も春めきにけれ

Roma-ji: Nobe mireba wakana tsumikeri ube shi koso kakine no kusa mo harumekinikere
English Translation: When I view the fields
I see they are picking greens;
yes, that is indeed
why the grasses by the hedge
have taken on spring's look.
Meaning: Looking at the fields, I see that people are gathering young greens; no wonder, then, that even the grass along the hedge has begun to look like spring.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 19

Headnote: "For a folding screen at the house of the Minister of the Right Tsunesuke"
Seeing people picking young greens in the fields, the poet understands at last why even the grass by the hedge has begun to look like spring. The gaze moves from the broad fields to the hedge close at hand, showing that the air of spring has reached every corner. According to the headnote, the poem accompanied a screen at the house of the Minister of the Right, Fujiwara no Tsunesuke.
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, "nobe mireba," means "when I look at the fields," showing the field scene of the screen painting.
Second line, "wakana tsumikeri," uses "keri" for the exclamation of discovery, and the poem pauses after the second line. After the field burning of the preceding poem, it moves on to the actual gathering of greens.
Third line, "ube shi koso," with "ube" meaning "indeed," "shi" as an intensifier and "koso" as a binding particle resolved by the perfective "kere" in the final line.
Fourth line, "kakine no kusa mo," sets the nearby hedge against the open fields, contrasting near and far.
Final line, "harumekinikere," with "harumeku" meaning "to take on the look of spring," closes in the perfective form in response to "koso."
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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