Asato akete miru zo sabishiki kataoka no nara no hiroha ni fureru shirayuki - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

朝戸開けて見るぞ寂しき片岡の
楢の広葉に降れる白雪

Roma-ji: Asato akete miru zo sabishiki kataoka no nara no hiroha ni fureru shirayuki
English Translation: Opening my door
at morning, how lonely the sight
upon the hillside:
on the broad leaves of the oaks
the white snow that has fallen
Meaning: How lonely it is to open the door in the morning and see it: the white snow lying on the broad oak leaves of the hillside.
Commentary: Book Six Winter Poems 445

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'A Snowy Morning at a Mountain Dwelling'"
Composed on the topic of a snowy morning at a mountain dwelling. How lonely it is, the poet says, to open the door in the morning and see the white snow lying on the broad oak leaves of the hillside. He gathers into the snow on the oak leaves both the surprise of seeing for the first time, on opening the door, the snow that fell overnight, and the loneliness of a mountain village covered in white.
The author, "Major Counselor Tsunenobu," is Minamoto no Tsunenobu, son of Provisional Middle Counselor Minamoto no Michikata, who rose to Major Counselor and died at his post as Acting Governor-General of Dazaifu. Called the Katsura Major Counselor, he excelled at Chinese verse, waka and music. A poem of his is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
Poems on snow continue from 445 to 467. 401 of this book sang of showers falling on the broad oak leaves with "nara no hiroha ni shigure furu nari." This poem lets snow fall on the same phrase, marking the passage from the season of showers to the season of snow.

First line, "asato akete": "asato" is the door opened in the morning. The line has an extra syllable, showing that he noticed the snow only on opening the door.
Second line, "miru zo sabishiki": the emphatic "zo" closes with the attributive "sabishiki." The poem pauses here, its order inverted with the lower verse.
Third line, "kataoka no": "kataoka" is a hill steep on one side, or a low rise.
Fourth line, "nara no hiroha ni": the same fourth line as 401 of this book. Where 401 brought showers, here snow has settled.
Fifth line, "fureru shirayuki": the poem ends on a noun, naming at last what he "sees" in the second line. "Ru," the attributive of the continuative "ri," means "lying fallen."
Author: Minamoto no Tsunenobu
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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