Six poems in the Hyakunin Isshu are classified under "winter." The snow on Fuji in Yamabe no Akahito's "Tago no Ura," the white of frost in Ōtomo no Yakamochi's "Kasasagi no," the stillness of Minamoto no Muneyuki's "Yamazato wa" — the winter poems are made of white, with every other colour stripped away, and of a loneliness in which all sign of people has gone. Here they are grouped into three — snow and frost, winter loneliness, and river mist — each with its meaning and background, and the song we made from it.
Poems that have become songs link from their row to the song page — meaning, the story behind the poem, bilingual lyrics, and the music video.
| No. | Poem | Poet | Meaning | Kimariji |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Tago no Ura ni uchiidete mireba shirotae no Fuji no takane ni yuki wa furitsutsu♪ Listen: “Tago no Ura” | Yamabe no Akahito | Coming out onto Tago Bay and looking up, I see the pure white peak of Fuji, where even now the snow keeps… | tago |
| 6 | Kasasagi no wataseru hashi ni oku shimo no shiroki o mireba yo zo fuke ni keru♪ Listen: “Kasasagi no” | Chunagon Yakamochi (Ōtomo no Yakamochi) | The bridge the magpies are said to spread across the River of Heaven — seeing the white frost settled on the… | kasa |
| 28 | Yamazato wa fuyu zo sabishisa masarikeru hitome mo kusa mo karenu to omoeba♪ Listen: “Yamazato wa” | Minamoto no Muneyuki | In the mountain village, loneliness deepens most in winter, when I think how visitors cease to come and the… | yamaza |
| 31 | Asaborake ariake no tsuki to miru made ni Yoshino no sato ni fureru shirayuki♪ Listen: “Asaborake Ariake no” | Sakanoue no Korenori | At daybreak, so bright I mistook it for the light of the lingering moon, white snow lies piled over the… | asaborake a |
| 64 | 朝ぼらけ 宇治の川霧 たえだえに あらはれわたる 瀬々の網代木 Coming soon | Gon-Chunagon Sadayori (Fujiwara no Sadayori) | At daybreak, as the mist over the Uji River lifts in patches, the fishing stakes set in the shallows appear… | asaborake u |
| 78 | 淡路島 かよふ千鳥の 鳴く声に 幾夜寝覚めぬ 須磨の関守 Coming soon | Minamoto no Kanemasa | How many nights has the barrier guard of Suma been woken by the mournful cries of plovers flying over from… | awaji |
Six poems are classified under "winter," the same number as spring. From No. 4 "Tago no Ura" to No. 78 "Awajishima," they sing of winter's familiar sights — snow, frost, river mist, and plovers.
Among the winter poems, two: No. 4 "Tago no Ura" (snow on Mount Fuji) and No. 31 "Asaborake" (the white snow of Yoshino). Snow also falls in a spring poem, No. 15 "Kimi ga tame," and in a miscellaneous poem, No. 96 "Hana sasou," where falling cherry petals are likened to snow.
Only one: No. 4, "Tago no Ura ni uchiidete mireba shirotae no Fuji no takane ni yuki wa furitsutsu," by Yamabe no Akahito. It is the sole appearance of Mount Fuji in the Hyakunin Isshu, and it was taken, in slightly altered form, from a poem in the Man'yōshū.