Chiyo fu beki hajime no haru to shirigao ni keshiki kotonaru hanazakura kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

千代経べき始めの春と知り顔に
気色異なる花桜かな

Roma-ji: Chiyo fu beki hajime no haru to shirigao ni keshiki kotonaru hanazakura kana
English Translation: As if it knew this
to be the first spring of a reign
that will span a thousand ages,
how unlike its usual mien
is the cherry blossom now
Meaning: As though it knew this to be the first spring of a reign that is to last a thousand ages, the cherry blossom wears a look quite unlike its usual one.
Commentary: Book Ten Poems of Celebration 623

Headnote: "Composed when, in the reign of Emperor Nijō, on first residing in the Greater Palace, he had poems composed on the topic 'Blossoms Bear the Hue of Joy'"
Composed when Emperor Nijō, having moved into the Greater Palace, for the first time had poems composed on the topic "Blossoms bear the hue of joy." As though it knew this to be the first spring of a reign that will last a thousand ages, he says, how different from usual is the look of the cherry blossom. Seeing the cherry blossoms of the first spring at the new palace as flowers rejoicing at the start of the reign, he paints the "hue of joy" of the topic as the expression on the blossoms' face.
The author, "the Minister of the Left," is Fujiwara no Tsunemune. The son of Provisional Major Counselor Fujiwara no Tsunezane, he rose to Minister of the Left and was called the Ōinomikado Minister of the Left. He was Emperor Nijō's maternal uncle. Because he was Minister of the Left when this anthology was compiled, he is recorded under that title.
Like "chiyo no hajime no" in 617 of this book, this poem celebrates the beginning of a thousand ages. The next poem, 624, is by Emperor Nijō himself.

First line, "chiyo fu beki": "beki" is the attributive of the conjectural "beshi," "which is to pass through a thousand ages."
Second line, "hajime no haru to": "as the first spring of the reign." It echoes "chiyo no hajime no" in the fourth line of 617.
Third line, "shirigao ni": "with a knowing look," treating the blossoms as a person.
Fourth line, "keshiki kotonaru": "keshiki" means look or appearance, "looking different from usual." It takes up the "hue of joy" in the topic.
Fifth line, "hanazakura kana": "hanazakura" is cherry blossom. The exclamatory "kana," attached to a noun, closes the poem.
Author: Fujiwara no Tsunemune
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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