Kokinshu 21

Text

仁和のみかど、親王におましましける時に、人に若菜賜ひける御歌

きみがため　春ののにいでて　わかなつむ　わが衣手に　雪はふりつつ

Translation

When the Ninwa Emperor was a prince, an honorable poem when he gave young shoots to someone.

[Emperor Kōkō]

For your sake / I go into the spring fields / and pick young shoots / on my robe's sleeves / snow is falling...

Notes

仁和のみかど

This is Emperor Kōkō (r. 884-887). Referring to an Emperor by the name of one of his reign eras is common. 仁和 is usually read as にんな but Takeoka notes that in the 17th century 日葡辞書 it's read as にんわ.

親王におましましける時

Kōkō took the throne when he was 54, so he was a prince for a long time.

おまします is not found anywhere else in Heian writings. The majority of manuscripts read おはしましける here instead. It's possible that おましましける is just a different honorific, but I agree with Katagiri that this is probably a miscopying in one of Shunzei's texts that found its way into Teika's.

衣手（ころもで）

This is a poetic word for "sleeve."

降りつつ

The つつ indicates continual activity. Many commenters see this ending as providing 余情 ("surplus feeling").

Analysis

This poem was favored by Template:Teika, and appears in his Shuka daitai and Eiga no taigai, as well as the Hyakunin isshu. The pseudo-teika Template:Teika assigns this poem to the 麗様体 category.