Help translate poem on 17th c. shodo scroll by Hozobo Shinkai

[Pete J.]

Hi all, wondering if someone could help translate a small poem on my 17th c. scroll by the Buddhist monk Hozobo Shinkai. My understanding is that he often wrote playful poems in the kyōka form. This scroll is hanging in my living room and I would love to know what I'm looking at: how it translates into English and if possible any general subtlety that is lost in translation. Thanks for your thoughts and help! --Pete

 

[Majestic]

The title is "Fuji" by Shinkai
(I can barely pull the apparent/obvious meaning out of the old text, much less any hidden meaning.)

不弐 信海
雲となりめくりて春はたち かえるふしは世界の ゆきのふる郷

くもとなり めくりてはるは たちかへる ふしはせかいの ゆきのふるさと


"When spring rolls the clouds back, and the world's snow returns to its home on Mt. Fuji"

This is all I can tell you. This site below greatly helped me (poem number 73)

狂歌逍遙（第１巻）

五句三十一音詩という概念を導入し、日本語の歴史を重ねることによって歌の歴史に新たな視座を開いた吉岡生夫の狂歌逍遙第１巻。狂歌大観を読む

www.pat.hi-ho.ne.jp

 

[Pete J.]

Thank you so much!! I truly appreciate the help with the translation!!