Yama samumi hana saku beku mo nakarikeri amari kanete mo tazunekinikeru

山寒み花咲くべくもなかりけり
あまりかねても尋ね来にける

Roma-ji: Yama samumi hana saku beku mo nakarikeri amari kanete mo tazunekinikeru
English Translation: The hills are so cold,
there's no sign the flowers will
open any time:
far too early, it would seem,
I came seeking them out here.
Meaning: The mountains are still so cold there is no sign the blossoms will open. I have come looking for them much too early.
Commentary: Spring Poems 144

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing fifteen poems on cherry blossoms"
Unable to wait, the poet has come to the mountains in search of the blossoms, but the hills are still cold and there is no sign of flowers at all. He has come far too early, he says, with a wry smile.
The poem portrays with humour a man whose eagerness for the flowers has run ahead of the season. Following the preceding poem's white clouds that come before the blossoms, here it is a person who has arrived ahead of them.

First line, “yama samumi”: since the mountains are cold; mi expresses cause.
Second line, “hana saku beku mo”: as though the blossoms would bloom.
Third line, “nakarikeri”: there was no sign, keri of realization with a break after the third line.
Fourth line, “amari kanete mo”: far too early, much too far in advance.
Fifth line, “tazunekinikeru”: I have come seeking them, ending on the attributive form and leaving a lingering rueful feeling.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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