神代よりふりはてにける雪なれと
けふはことにも珍しき哉
けふはことにも珍しき哉
- Roma-ji
-
Kamiyo yori furihatenikeru yuki naredo kyō wa koto ni mo mezurashiki kana
- English Translation
-
Ever since the age
of the gods it has fallen,
this snow, grown so old,
and yet today, above all days,
how wondrous it appears
- Meaning
- This snow has been falling since the age of the gods until it has grown old, yet today it seems more wondrous than ever.
- Commentary
-
40 The First Snow
After their exchange about the thread of life, the year was drawing to a close, and it was early in the eleventh month, when the coming of spring felt near. Early one snowy morning a poem came from the prince.
The woman is Izumi Shikibu, daughter of Ōe no Masamune and, as the wife of Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi, mother of Koshikibu no Naishi. The Prince of the Dazaifu is Prince Atsumichi, fourth son of Emperor Reizei, so called because he served as Governor-General of the Dazaifu.
On the morning of the winter's first snow, the prince sent Izumi Shikibu this poem.
She replied with "Hatsuyuki to izure no fuyu mo mishi mama ni mezurashige naki mi nomi furitsutsu." So the two passed their days in such light exchanges.
The opening lines mean "fallen since the age of the gods until it has grown old," where "furi" means both snow falling and growing old, with auxiliaries of completion and past. The third line means "though it is snow."
The lower verses mean "today it is especially wondrous," with an adverb meaning "above all" and an exclamatory particle. Even snow that has fallen unchanged since ancient times feels fresh to him this year, when his heart is joined with hers; he overlays the joy of the first snow with the joy of love.
- Author
- Prince Atsumichi
- Source
- Izumi Shikibu Nikki
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Tama no o wa taen mono ka wa chigiriteshi nagaki kokoro ni musubikometeki
- Next Poem
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Hatsuyuki to izure no fuyu mo mishi mama ni mezurashige naki mi nomi furitsutsu