Yuki fureba tani no kakehashi uzumorete kozue zo fuyu no yamaji narikeru - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

雪降れば谷の懸け橋埋もれて
梢ぞ冬の山路なりける

Roma-ji: Yuki fureba tani no kakehashi uzumorete kozue zo fuyu no yamaji narikeru
English Translation: When the snow comes down
the plank bridge across the gorge
is buried from sight,
and the treetops have become
the mountain path of winter
Meaning: When the snow falls, the plank bridge over the ravine is buried, and the treetops become the mountain road of winter.
Commentary: Book Six Winter Poems 454

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed as a poem on snow at the poetry contest held at the Kayanoin mansion of the Kyōgoku Former Grand Minister"
Composed on the topic of snow at the Kayanoin poetry contest. When the snow falls, the poet says, the plank bridge over the ravine is buried, and the treetops become the mountain road of winter. With an exaggerated, unexpected conceit, people walking across at the height of treetops one usually looks up at, he conveys snow so deep it fills the ravine.
The author, "Minamoto no Toshiyori Ason," was the son of Major Counselor Minamoto no Tsunenobu. The central poet of Emperor Horikawa's poetry circle, he compiled the Kin'yō Wakashū at the command of Retired Emperor Shirakawa and wrote the treatise Toshiyori Zuinō. A poem of his is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The three poems from 452 to 454 are poems on snow from the poetry contest held by the Kyōgoku Former Grand Minister, Fujiwara no Morozane, at his Kayanoin mansion, known as the Kayanoin Seven-Round Poetry Contest. It was held in the eighth year of Kanji (1094).

First line, "yuki fureba": "ba" gives a fixed condition, "when the snow falls." 466 of this book opens with the same line.
Second line, "tani no kakehashi": a "kakehashi" is a bridge of planks laid across a ravine or cliff.
Third line, "uzumorete": "buried in the snow."
Fourth line, "kozue zo fuyu no": "kozue" are the tips of branches, the tops of trees. The emphatic "zo" closes with the attributive "keru" in the last line. 466 of this book also sings of treetops laden with snow.
Fifth line, "yamaji narikeru": "keri" expresses realization, "the treetops were the mountain road."
Author: Minamoto no Toshiyori
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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