Magau iro wa ume to nomi mite sugiyuku ni yuki no hana ni wa ka zo nakarikeru

まがふ色は梅とのみ見て過ぎ行くに
雪の花には香ぞなかりける

Roma-ji: Magau iro wa ume to nomi mite sugiyuku ni yuki no hana ni wa ka zo nakarikeru
English Translation: Taking the color
that confuses me for plum,
I pass on my way—
but these blossoms of the snow
have no fragrance, I find.
Meaning: Taking that confusing color for plum blossoms, I passed on by—only to find that the blossoms of snow have no fragrance.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1363

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When snow had fallen"
Taking the confusing white for plum blossoms, he passes by, only to find the snow blossoms have no fragrance, the poet says.
Mistaking white plum for snow is a traditional conceit, but here the discovery comes through smell: though the color is alike, the lack of scent reveals snow. Taking up the snow-as-blossom comparisons of the two preceding poems, it wittily notes their limit.

First line, “magau iro wa”: the color that confuses; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “ume to nomi mite”: seeing it only as plum; the text writes ume as mume.
Third line, “sugiyuku ni”: as I pass on.
Fourth line, “yuki no hana ni wa”: in the blossoms of snow.
Fifth line, “ka zo nakarikeru”: zo is answered by the attributive keru, "they had no scent."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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