Meet the Poets of Hyakunin Isshu
Yamabe no Akahito

Meaning

Going out to Tago Bay and looking around, I see snow falling ceaselessly on the high peak of Fuji, white as freshly woven cloth.

Commentary

In the poet's day, Tago Bay lay further west than it does now. Mountains pressed close to the coastline there, so travellers coming from the west caught their first full view of Mount Fuji only when they emerged onto the shore at Tago Bay.

The poet must have been moved by the majestic sight of Fuji, and poured that wonder into this poem.

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