Orite miru kai mo aru kana ume no hana kyō kokonoe no nioi masarite - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

折りて見るかひもあるかな梅の花
今日九重のにほひまさりて

Roma-ji: Orite miru kai mo aru kana ume no hana kyō kokonoe no nioi masarite
English Translation: Well worth the breaking
off a branch to look upon,
O blossoms of plum,
for today within the palace
all your beauty is the greater.
Meaning: It is well worth breaking you off to gaze upon, O plum blossoms, for today in the palace your beauty shines all the more.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Spring Poems 1010

Headnote: "In the same reign, when the emperor had his chair set beneath the plum blossoms and held a flower banquet, and the courtiers of the privy chamber composed poems"
The poet says that the plum blossoms are well worth breaking off to look at, for today in the palace their beauty is all the greater. The headnote's "in the same reign" takes up "in the Tenryaku era" of the preceding poem, 1009, showing that it was composed when Emperor Murakami had his chair set beneath the plum blossoms, held a flower banquet, and the courtiers composed poems. Praising the beauty of the plum blooming at the emperor's banquet, it celebrates the brilliance of the occasion.
The author, Minamoto no Hironobu, was a courtier of the reign of Emperor Murakami, of whom little is known.

First line, "orite miru," means "to break off and look at."
Second line, "kai mo aru kana," means "is well worth it," with "kana" exclamatory. The poem breaks after this second line.
Third line, "ume no hana," calls out "O plum blossoms."
Fourth line, "kyō kokonoe no," means "today in the palace," with "kokonoe," the ninefold enclosure, meaning the palace.
Final line, "nioi masarite," means "their beauty all the greater," adding in inverted order the reason for "kai mo aru" in the second line. It shares the word "nioi" with the second line of 1005 in this book, "kimi ga nioi no."
Author: Minamoto no Hironobu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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