Tsurara ishi hosotanigawa no tokeyukeba minakami yori ya haru wa tatsuramu - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

つららゐし細谷川の解けゆけば
水上よりや春は立つらむ

Roma-ji: Tsurara ishi hosotanigawa no tokeyukeba minakami yori ya haru wa tatsuramu
English Translation: Where ice had settled
on the narrow valley stream
the thaw now begins;
can it be that from upstream
spring is now rising into being
Meaning: The narrow valley stream once sealed with ice is thawing now. Can it be that spring rises forth from the headwaters?
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 4

Seeing a narrow valley stream once locked in ice begin to thaw, the poet wonders whether spring comes down from the upper reaches. The idea of spring flowing down along the stream shows an eye attentive to nearby nature.
The author, Kyōgoku Kanpaku-ke no Higo, is Higo, a daughter of Fujiwara no Sadanari. She served as a lady-in-waiting in the household of Fujiwara no Morozane, known as the Kyōgoku Regent, and was active in the poetic circle of Emperor Horikawa.

First line, 'tsurara ishi', means ice had formed; tsurara here is ice on the water's surface, and iru means for ice to form.
Second line, 'hosotanigawa no', is a narrow valley stream, a small flow deep in the hills.
Third line, 'tokeyukeba', means as it gradually thaws; like poem 1, it knows spring by the melting of ice.
Fourth line, 'minakami yori ya', takes minakami, the upper reaches or source of the river, with ya forming a question. It answers 'from the very gate of heaven' in poem 3.
Final line, 'haru wa tatsuramu', is the same final line as poem 3; against spring coming from heaven there, here spring comes from upstream, and the two form a pair.
Author: Kyōgoku Kanpaku-ke no Higo
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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