初雪といつれの冬もみしまゝに
珍しけなきみのみふりつゝ
珍しけなきみのみふりつゝ
- Roma-ji
-
Hatsuyuki to izure no fuyu mo mishi mama ni mezurashige naki mi nomi furitsutsu
- English Translation
-
Every winter I've seen
the first snow and called it so,
and all the while
only I, so commonplace,
grow older as it falls
- Meaning
- Each winter I have looked upon the first snow, and all the while only I, so commonplace, keep growing old as it falls.
- 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 first snow, the prince's "Kamiyo yori furihatenikeru yuki naredo kyō wa koto ni mo mezurashiki kana" arrived, and Izumi Shikibu sent back this poem.
So the two passed their days in such light exchanges. Before long a letter would come from the prince saying that he had meant to visit since they had grown distant, but people were composing Chinese verse.
The opening lines mean "as the first snow, in every winter," the first snow that comes round each year. The third line means "as I have seen it," that is, all the while.
The lower verses mean "only I, so ordinary, keep growing old," where "furi" means both snow falling and aging, with a particle of continuation. Taking up his "wondrous" and "falling," she replies with modesty and lament: the snow may feel new each year, but she only grows older, with nothing wondrous about her.
- Author
- Izumi Shikibu
- Source
- Izumi Shikibu Nikki
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