Kiki mo sezu tabashineyama no sakurabana yoshino no hoka ni kakaru beshi to wa

聞きもせず束稲山の桜花
吉野の外にかかるべしとは

Roma-ji: Kiki mo sezu tabashineyama no sakurabana yoshino no hoka ni kakaru beshi to wa
English Translation: I had never heard—
cherry blossoms of the hill
of Tabashine—
that besides in Yoshino
there could be such as these!
Meaning: I had never heard of it—the cherry blossoms of Mount Tabashine! Who would have thought there could be such blossoms anywhere but Yoshino?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1442

Headnote: "In Michinoku, facing Hiraizumi, there is a mountain called Tabashine, where other trees seemed few and only cherries could be seen, and I composed this on seeing them in bloom"
Facing Hiraizumi in Michinoku was Mount Tabashine, so covered in cherries that other trees seemed few, and Saigyō composed this on seeing them in bloom. He had never heard that there could be such cherries outside Yoshino, he says.
Yoshino was the famous place for cherries, and Saigyō, who loved it all his life, sings of his surprise and emotion at meeting cherries to rival it in the distant north. The poem also hints at the splendid culture of Hiraizumi, where the Northern Fujiwara flourished.

First line, “kiki mo sezu”: I had never heard, a declaration breaking after the first line.
Second line, “tabashineyama no”: of Mount Tabashine facing Hiraizumi.
Third line, “sakurabana”: cherry blossoms; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “yoshino no hoka ni”: beyond Yoshino, famed for cherries.
Fifth line, “kakaru beshi to wa”: that such could be, the inversion giving the content of the first line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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