新しき年の初めの初春の今日降る雪のいやしけ吉事

https://imperfectatbest.com/2019/01/02/manyo-collection-of-ten-thousand-leaves-new-years-and-the-snow/ Manyo-shu is the oldest anthology of short poems (waka, directly translated as short songs) in Japanese history, including 20 volumes and 4,536 short poems and Chinese verse. This huge collection ends with the following poem. 万葉集は、日本最古の歌集で、20巻、4536の和歌といくつかの漢詩で成り立っています。この長大な歌集は、以下の和歌で締めくくられます。 新しき年の初めの初春の今日降る雪のいやしけ吉事 あたらしき　としのはじめの　はつはるの きょうふるゆきの　いやしけよごと On this New Year’s day As auspicious snow falls on and on May joys be blooming on our way For some people snow brings refreshing feel of a white, sparkly winter wonderland and sweet reminiscences of their childhood while for others it’s all about permanently runny nose and flushed cheeks as well as curing up in oversized sweater and keeping shoveling the snow. 雪と言えば、キラキラした銀世界や無邪気な子供時代の象徴と捉える人もいれば、鼻水や真っ赤な頬、セーターに身をくるんだり、延々と雪かきしたりといったものと結びつける人もいるでしょう。 This song is written on the New Year’s day, 759, with provincial governors greeting the Ministry building. Ohtomo no Yakamochi, the leading poet from Manyo-shu, wrote it and was arguably one of the editors. この和歌は759年の元旦に作られたもので、国守のもとに国司や郡司が訪れ饗を賜るなか、万葉集に最も多くの和歌を寄せ、編纂者とされている大伴家持の作です。 Snow was then believed to be an auspicious sign. Some people still have a positive attitude towards occasional snowfalls but for others it’s just another sign of a cold, bleak winter. People, centuries ago, seem to see something special in a change of the weathers, and of the years. We still learn how differently people see things happening from day to day. 当時、雪は吉兆とされていました。今でも、時々降る雪を喜び人がいる一方で、雪は寒く暗い冬の象徴だと捉える人々もいます。当時の人々は、天気や年の移り変わりに特別なものを感じていたのでしょう。日々の出来事への向き合いかたが、人によっていかに異なるか学ばされますね。