Yamazakura eda kiru kaze no nagori naku hana o sanagara waga mono ni suru

山桜枝きる風の名残なく
花をさながら我がものにする

Roma-ji: Yamazakura eda kiru kaze no nagori naku hana o sanagara waga mono ni suru
English Translation: Mountain cherry boughs,
the wind that cuts across them
leaves no trace behind,
and the blossoms, every one,
it takes wholly for its own.
Meaning: The wind that slashes through the boughs of the mountain cherry leaves not a trace behind, and takes the blossoms, every one, for its own.
Commentary: Spring Poems 140

Headnote: "Blossoms falling before the wind"
The topic is blossoms falling before the wind. The wind lashing at the branches of the mountain cherry leaves not one petal behind, taking all the blossoms as its own.
The ingenuity lies in seeing the scattering wind as a thief who carries the flowers off. While people grieve and try to keep the blossoms near, the wind takes them all, and the poem conveys that resentment.

First line, “yamazakura”: of the mountain cherry, leading into the branches.
Second line, “eda kiru kaze no”: of the wind that blows as if slashing the branches.
Third line, “nagori naku”: leaving no trace at all.
Fourth line, “hana o sanagara”: the blossoms, every one of them.
Fifth line, “waga mono ni suru”: makes them its own, closing with the image of the wind seizing the flowers.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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