Kochi fukaba nioi okoseyo ume no hana aruji nashi tote haru o wasuru na - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

東風吹かば匂ひおこせよ梅の花
主なしとて春を忘るな

Roma-ji: Kochi fukaba nioi okoseyo ume no hana aruji nashi tote haru o wasuru na
English Translation: When the east wind blows,
send me your fragrance on it,
O blossoms of plum;
though your master is not here,
do not forget the spring.
Meaning: When the east wind blows, send your fragrance to me, O plum blossoms; though your master is gone, do not forget the spring.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Spring Poems 1006

Headnote: "On seeing the plum blossoms at his house when he was being sent into exile"
The poet calls on the plum blossoms to send their scent to him in exile when the east wind blows, and not to forget the spring though their master is gone. The headnote shows it was composed when, about to be exiled, he looked at the plum blossoms at his house. Sugawara no Michizane, demoted to Dazaifu, calls out to the plum tree at his mansion in the capital and entrusts it with his grief at parting. In later ages the legend of the "flying plum" arose, telling that this tree, longing for Michizane, flew all the way to Dazaifu. The final line is also widely known in the later form "haru na wasure so."
The author, written as "the posthumous Chancellor," is Sugawara no Michizane. A son of Sugawara no Koreyoshi, he was favored by Emperor Uda and rose to Minister of the Right, but through the slander of Fujiwara no Tokihira he was demoted to Provisional Governor-General of Dazaifu and died in exile. He was posthumously granted the title of Chancellor.

First line, "kochi fukaba," means "if the east wind blows," with "ba" after the irrealis form expressing supposition. "Kochi" is the wind that blows from the east in spring.
Second line, "nioi okoseyo," means "send me your scent," with "okoseyo" in the imperative, calling on the plum blossoms of the third line.
Third line, "ume no hana," calls out "O plum blossoms," and the poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "aruji nashi tote," means "though your master is gone." It shares the word "aruji" with the fourth and final lines of 1015 in this book, "hana koso yado no aruji narikere," pairing the plum of a house that has lost its master with the mountain dwelling where the blossoms themselves are master.
Final line, "haru o wasuru na," means "do not forget the spring," with "na" a final particle of prohibition.
Author: Sugawara no Michizane
Source: Shui Wakashu
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