Oihatete yuki no yama o ba itadakedo shimoto miru ni zo mi wa hienikeru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

老いはてて雪の山をば戴けど
しもと見るにぞ身は冷えにける

Roma-ji: Oihatete yuki no yama o ba itadakedo shimoto miru ni zo mi wa hienikeru
English Translation: Grown utterly old,
I bear a mountain of snow
upon my white head,
yet it is seeing the rod, like frost,
that chills me to the bone.
Meaning: Grown utterly old, I bear a mountain of snow upon my head, yet it is not that which chills me; it is seeing the rod, cold as frost, that turns my body cold.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 564

Headnote: "When Sakurajima no Tadanobu, Governor of Ōsumi, was in his province and was about to summon and question a white-haired old man among the district officials, the old man composed this"
The poet says that though, grown old, he bears a mountain of snow on his head, it is not that which chills him but the sight of the rod. The headnote shows that when Sakurajima no Tadanobu, as Governor of Ōsumi, was in his province and was about to summon a white-haired district official and question him over an offense, the old man composed this poem. A note after the headnote says that "because of this poem he was pardoned," recording that the poem won the old man's release. Likening white hair to a snowy mountain and pivoting on "shimoto," "like frost" and the "rod," it ties the cold of snow and frost to fear of punishment, a poem that saved its author by wit.
Sakurajima no Tadanobu, Governor of Ōsumi, was an official of the mid-Heian period who served as Governor of Ōsumi.

First line, "oihatete," means "grown utterly old," with "hatsu" adding the sense of "completely." It shares the theme of an aged person with the final line of the preceding poem, 563, "yowai naru hito."
Second line, "yuki no yama o ba," means "a mountain of snow," likening white hair to a snow-covered mountain. It links through the word "mountain" to the third and fourth lines of the preceding poem, 563, "Yoshinoyama" and "yama yori takaki."
Third line, "itadakedo," means "though I bear it on my head," with "do" a concessive particle.
Fourth line, "shimoto miru ni zo," is a pivot word: "shimoto" means "like frost" and the "rod" for beating offenders. The binding particle "zo" is resolved by "keru" in the final line.
Final line, "mi wa hienikeru," means "my body has grown cold," with "ni" perfective and "keru" the attributive form of the past auxiliary "keri." It takes up the cold of the "snow" in the second line and the "frost" in the fourth.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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