秋風に初雁がねぞ聞こゆなる
たがたまづさをかけて来つらむ
たがたまづさをかけて来つらむ
- Roma-ji
-
Akikaze ni hatsukari ga ne zo kikoyu naru
ta ga tamazusa o kakete kitsuramu - English Translation
-
On the autumn wind
the first wild goose is heard—
its cry drifting near;
for whom does it bear a letter,
carried thus across the sky?
- Meaning
- On the autumn wind I hear the cry of the first wild goose—whose message does it carry as it comes?
- Commentary
-
Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
This poem was paired in a poetry contest at the residence of Prince Koretada.
It is based on the Chinese tale of Su Wu, who, captured in the land of the Xiongnu, sent a letter by means of a goose to the Han emperor and was thereby able to return home safely. The poem imagines the goose as bearing a message.
- Author
- Ki no Tomonori
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Matsu hito ni aranu mono kara hatsukari no
kesa naku koe no mezurashiki kana - Next Poem
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Waga kado ni inaōsedori no naku nabe ni
kesa fuku kaze ni kari wa kinikeri