Kasugano wa toshi no uchi ni wa yuki tsumite haru wa wakana no ouru narikeri

春日野は年のうちには雪積みて
春は若菜の生ふるなりけり

Roma-ji: Kasugano wa toshi no uchi ni wa yuki tsumite haru wa wakana no ouru narikeri
English Translation: On Kasuga's plain,
while the old year still remained,
the snow lay piled up,
and with spring the tender herbs
come to sprout there, so it seems.
Meaning: On the plain of Kasuga, snow lay heaped while the old year lasted, and now, with spring, the young herbs are coming up.
Commentary: Spring Poems 19

Headnote: "Young herbs"
The poem traces the changes on Kasuga Plain, famed for gathering young herbs. The plain that lay under snow before the year's end turns, with the coming of spring, into a field where young herbs grow, a reflection on the turning of the seasons.
Contrasting toshi no uchi and haru, the poem portrays the plain in winter and spring through snow and young herbs. Taking up the snow-buried herbs of the preceding poem, it shifts the view to the passage of time by which a snowy field becomes a field of herbs.

First line, “Kasugano wa”: the plain at the foot of Mount Kasuga in Yamato, known for gathering young herbs.
Second line, “toshi no uchi ni wa”: within the old year, pairing with haru wa in the fourth line.
Third line, “yuki tsumite”: snow piling up, the plain's winter aspect.
Fourth line, “haru wa wakana no”: in spring the young herbs, contrasted with toshi no uchi ni wa.
Fifth line, “ouru narikeri”: so the young herbs grow, closing with keri of realization as a reflection on the cycle of seasons.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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