Hatsuyuki wa maki no ha shiroku furinikeri ko ya onoyama no fuyu no sabishisa - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

初雪は真木の葉白く降りにけり
こや小野山の冬のさびしさ

Roma-ji: Hatsuyuki wa maki no ha shiroku furinikeri ko ya onoyama no fuyu no sabishisa
English Translation: The first snow of the year
turning white the evergreen leaves
has fallen at last:
is this, then, the loneliness
of winter on Ono Mountain
Meaning: The first snow has fallen, turning the leaves of the evergreens white; is this, then, the loneliness of winter on Mount Ono?
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 280

Seeing the first snow fall and whiten the leaves of the cedars and cypresses, the poet is moved to ask whether this is the loneliness of winter on Mount Ono. In the evergreen leaves turned white the poet finds the loneliness of a mountain village in winter.
Taking up the final line 'the first snow that has fallen' of the preceding poem, 279, it begins with 'the first snow', and two poems on the first snow stand side by side. Poem 290 in this book also sings of Mount Ono, depicting charcoal-kiln smoke and snow clouds.
Poems 277 through 293 in this book center on snow, with poems on falconry set among them at 281 through 283.
The author, Tsunenobu, is Minamoto no Tsunenobu. A son of Minamoto no Michikata, he rose to Major Counselor and was called the Katsura Counselor. In his last years he died at his post as Provisional Governor-General of Dazaifu. He was the father of the compiler, Minamoto no Toshiyori.

First line, 'hatsuyuki wa', means the first snow of the winter, taking up the final line 'the first snow that has fallen' of the preceding poem, 279.
Second line, 'maki no ha shiroku', means turning white the leaves of the evergreens, showing the green leaves changed to white.
Third line, 'furinikeri', means it has fallen, using the exclamatory keri. The poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, 'ko ya onoyama no', uses ko ya, is this then, ya expressing both question and wonder. Mount Ono is the mountain of Ono in Yamashiro, also sung in poem 290 in this book.
Final line, 'fuyu no sabishisa', is the loneliness of winter, closing with a noun.
Author: Minamoto no Tsunenobu
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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