Kage kiyoki hana no kagami to miyuru kana nodoka ni sumeru Shirakawa no mizu - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

影清き花の鏡と見ゆるかな
のどかに澄める白川の水

Roma-ji: Kage kiyoki hana no kagami to miyuru kana nodoka ni sumeru Shirakawa no mizu
English Translation: Pure in its reflection
it appears to be a mirror
held up to the blossoms:
the water of the Shirakawa,
flowing calm and clear
Meaning: It looks like a mirror for the blossoms, so pure are their reflections in it: the calm, clear water of the Shirakawa.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 44

Headnote: "Composed on the day when, after Emperor Toba had stepped down from the throne, he made an excursion to Shirakawa to view the blossoms"
Composed on the day Retired Emperor Toba, after abdicating, made an excursion to Shirakawa to view the blossoms, this poem says that the cherries are reflected so purely in the calm, clear river that it seems a mirror for the flowers. Depicting the mild spring scene of a festive day through blossoms mirrored in clear water, it celebrates the peace of the reign.
The author, "the Hanazono Minister of the Left," is Minamoto no Arihito, son of Prince Sukehito, himself a son of Emperor Go-Sanjō. Made a commoner, he rose to Minister of the Left, was called the Hanazono Minister of the Left, and excelled in poetry and music. "Ōimauchigimi" means a minister of state.

First line, "kage kiyoki": "kage" is the image of the blossoms mirrored on the water.
Second line, "hana no kagami to": "as a mirror for the blossoms."
Third line, "miyuru kana": "it appears so," and the poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "nodoka ni sumeru": "ru" is the attributive of the continuative "ri," "calm and clear." The word "nodoka ni" also appears in 47 below.
Fifth line, "Shirakawa no mizu": ending on a noun, it places the subject of the first three lines afterward by inversion. The Shirakawa flows east of the capital, a district that was also the site of Retired Emperor Shirakawa's palace.
Author: Minamoto no Arihito
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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