Monk Sosei’s “Snow on the branches where the cuckoo sings” (Kokinshu #6)

Translation
Poem of the snow that falls on trees
As spring
begins
The white flowers
we see
May just be the
snow
On the bough
Where the
cuckoo sings
Commentary
From a distance, one cannot tell the
difference between the white flowers on a mountain and the white snow that
remains as winter turns to spring. The poem whimsically wonders if the cuckoo
mistook the snow for flowers and landed on the bough to sing its song. It can
also be read as the cuckoo weeps when it lands on the bough, thinking it has
flowers, but it turns out to have snow.
Japanese
Pronunciation
素性法師
Sosei Houshi
春立てば
Haru tateba
花とや見らむ
Hana to ya miran
白雪の
Shira yuki no
かかれる枝に
Kakareru eda ni
うぐひすぞなく
Uguisu zo naku
Translation Notes
Spring
rises/stands when/as/if
Flowers and see
may/suppose
White snow ’s
[Hang/come-into-view/straddle/span/befall/fasten/be-the-result-of]
branch/bough on
Bush-warbler/nightingale/cuckoo
sing/chirp/cry/weep

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.