#015 君がため

君がため
春の野に出でて
若菜つむ
わが衣手に
雪はふりつつ

kimi ga tame haru no no ni idete wakana tsumu waga koromode ni yuki wa furi tsutsu

Emperor Kōkō 

it is for you I am out in the fields picking spring herbs while the snow still falls and covers my sleeves (trans. Köy Deli )

only for you would I go into spring fields to pick young greens all the while snow falls on my sleeves  (trans. Jane Reichhold)

Parsing

kimi ga tame
you | is | for
haru no no ni idete
spring | of | field | at/in | go out
waka na tsumu
young | greens | to pluck
waga koromode ni
my | sleeves |on
yuki wa furi tsutsu
snow | falling | while


Crib

On your behalf I went out in the spring fields to pluck wild herbs while the snow was descending on my sleeves.

Notes

A little sense of achievement with this one in that I was able to recognize some words/phrases and able to translate bits of it without instant recourse to the dictionary. The green herbs and the marked sleeves remind me of the ferns in the previous waka and the marking of cloth; and also of the first waka and the Emperor's sleeves wet with dew which also ends with the particle of continuing and repetitive action -tsutsu.

君 kimi [you] here refers to the recipient of the gift of wakana.

Wakana is a general term for edible and medicinal herbs, roots and shoots, such as the seven herbs of spring that eaten at New Year are said to drive away disease and bless one with longevity.

Gabi Greve (World Kigo Database) notes:

wakana tsumu ... a custom for the (lunar calendar) New Year

obsersvance kigo for the New Year

wakana o kuusu, offering fresh greens 若菜を供す
similar to nanakusa, seven herbs of spring
..... wakano no sechi-e 若菜の節会（わかなのせちえ）
..... picking fresh greens, wakana tsumi 若菜摘 わかなつみ
fresh greens, "young greens", wakana 若菜（わかな）
first fresh greens, hatsu wakana 初若菜（はつわかな）
field with fresh greens, wakana no 若菜野（わかなの）
boat transporting fresh greens, wakana bune 若菜舟（わかなぶね）、
day of fresh greens, wakana no hi 若菜の日（わかなのひ）
..... selling fresh greens, 若菜売（わかなうり）

Natsumigawa no shinji 菜摘川の神事 (なつみがわのしんじ)
ritual of picking herbs at Natsumi river

In Yoshino seven herbs were offered at the shrine
Katte Myojin 吉野の勝手明神.

Natsumigawa is the rital name here for the river Yoshinogawa 吉野川.
It used to be a court ritual, already celebrated in poems of the Manyo-Shu collection.

more is here
http://worldkigo2005.blogspot.jp/2005/06/fern-shida.html

 

kimi	君	1.you; buddy; pal 2. master, young master 3. (classical) prince, lord
ga	が	case particle: subject marker; designation; modifier of a word with following word; ‘is’ ‘
tame	ため	because, since, for, for the sake of, on behalf of, for the benefit of,	conjunction
haru	春	spring
no	の	genitive particle
no	野	plain, field
ni	に	locative particle
ide-te	出で	exit, go out, leave, put out, come out
waka	若	young, immature
na	菜	vegetable, side dish, greens
tsumu	つむ	to pluck, to pick, to trim
waga	わが	my, our, one’s own
koromode	衣手	sleeve(s)
yuki	雪	snow
wa ... tsutsu	は -- つつ	conjunctive particle of continuing action, ‘while’
furi	ふり	to fall on, to pour down, to cover