My beloved’s robe—
its hem turned back by the wind;
how strangely it blows,
the first wind of autumn
that comes upon us now.

Meaning

The first wind of autumn has begun to blow, turning back the hem of my beloved’s robe—how strangely it feels.

Commentary

Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)

“My beloved’s robe, its hem turned back by the wind” serves as a preface leading to “ura” (back/hidden), suggesting the inner side of the garment being revealed.

The poem expresses the arrival of autumn through the blowing wind, and the perspective of noticing the hem of her husband’s robe fluttering in the wind conveys a delicate, feminine sensitivity.

“Seko” is a term used by a woman to refer to her lover or husband.

Author

Unknown Poet

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

Though with my own eyes I cannot clearly discern that autumn has come, it is in the sound of wind that I am made aware of it.
The river wind now blows with a coolness—perhaps with the rising waves, along with their surging, too, autumn itself comes to stand?
Only yesterday we planted the tender rice— yet before I knew, the rice leaves sway in the fields, and autumn winds begin to blow.
From the day it blew, the autumn wind began to stir— since that time, never is there a day I do not stand by the banks of Heaven’s River.

My beloved’s robe— its hem turned back by the wind; how strangely it blows, the first wind of autumn that comes upon us now.

My beloved’s robe—
its hem turned back by the wind;
how strangely it blows,
the first wind of autumn
that comes upon us now.