Kazakoshi no mine no tsuzuki ni saku hana wa itsu sakari tomo naku ya chiriken

風越の峰の続きに咲く花は
いつ盛りともなくや散りけん

Roma-ji: Kazakoshi no mine no tsuzuki ni saku hana wa itsu sakari tomo naku ya chiriken
English Translation: On Kazakoshi,
blossoms on the line of peaks
blooming far away,
with no moment at their height,
have they scattered, I wonder?
Meaning: Have the blossoms along the ridge of Kazakoshi already scattered, with no time at all to reach their height?
Commentary: Spring Poems 83

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing many poems on cherry blossoms"
The poet imagines that the blossoms along the ridge of Kazakoshi, true to a name that means where the wind crosses, may have scattered before they ever had a moment of full bloom.
The charm lies in letting the place name Kazakoshi echo the wind that scatters the flowers. Grief for blossoms that fall before reaching their prime is expressed through the flowers of a distant mountain.

First line, “Kazakoshi no”: the peaks of Kazakoshi, a poetic place in Shinano, whose name evokes the wind blowing over.
Second line, “mine no tsuzuki ni”: along the line of peaks.
Third line, “saku hana wa”: singling out the cherries blooming there.
Fourth line, “itsu sakari tomo”: with no time one could call their height.
Fifth line, “naku ya chiriken”: the interrogative ya forms a kakari-musubi with the past conjectural ken, closing with the question of whether they fell without ever peaking.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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