Michi tayu to itoishi mono o yamazato ni kiyuru wa oshiki kozo no yuki kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

道絶ゆと厭ひしものを山里に
消ゆるは惜しき去年の雪かな

Roma-ji: Michi tayu to itoishi mono o yamazato ni kiyuru wa oshiki kozo no yuki kana
English Translation: Though I resented it
for cutting off the pathways,
in the mountain village
I find I grieve as it melts,
the snow of last year
Meaning: Though I once resented it for cutting off the roads, now that it is melting away in the mountain village I find myself sorry to see it go, this snow of last year.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 4

Headnote: "Composed on lingering snow when presenting a hundred-poem sequence in the reign of Emperor Horikawa"
Composed on the topic "lingering snow" for the Horikawa Hundred-Poem Sequence, this poem traces a change of heart: snow resented all winter for blocking the roads now seems precious as it melts away in the mountain village in spring. The reversal in feeling toward the same snow reveals both the fickleness of the human heart and a wish to hold on to the passing season.
The author, "Former Middle Counselor Masafusa," is Ōe no Masafusa, son of Ōe no Narihira. A scholar who served three emperors, Go-Sanjō, Shirakawa and Horikawa, he rose to Provisional Middle Counselor. Famed for his learning, he was one of the poets of the Horikawa Hundred-Poem Sequence.

First line, "michi tayu to": "thinking the road cut off." Like "ato tayuru" in the preceding poem, 3, it presupposes a mountain village closed in by winter snow.
Second line, "itoishi mono o": "shi" is the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki," and "mono o" is concessive: "though I resented it."
Third line, "yamazato ni": names the place where the snow melts. In a village far from the capital, snow cut off all traffic, so it was all the more disliked in winter.
Fourth line, "kiyuru wa oshiki": "its melting is regrettable," pairing with "itoishi" in the second line to show the reversal of feeling.
Fifth line, "kozo no yuki kana": "last year's snow" is the lingering snow, which became last year's snow when the new year began. The exclamatory "kana" closes the poem with deep feeling.
Author: Oe no Masafusa
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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