秋萩にうらびれをればあしびきの
山下とよみ鹿の鳴くらむ
山下とよみ鹿の鳴くらむ
- Roma-ji
-
Akihagi ni urabire oreba ashibiki no
yamashita toyomi shika no nakuramu - English Translation
-
Before autumn bush clover,
as I sit in quiet sorrow—
from the mountain’s foot,
resounding through the valleys,
the stag’s cry seems to echo.
- Meaning
- As I sit in quiet sorrow before the autumn bush clover, the cry of a stag seems to echo from the foot of the mountain.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
Since ancient times, bush clover has often been likened to a woman, and the season when it blooms coincides with the time when stags cry out in search of mates. The poet, feeling lonely in autumn, hears the stag’s cry as if it were giving voice to that solitude.
“Urabire” means to feel forlorn or dejected.
“Ashibiki” is a pillow word for “mountain.”
“Yamashita toyomi” conveys the sense of the mountain’s foot resounding with sound.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Okuyama ni momiji fumiwake naku shika no
koe kiku toki zo aki wa kanashiki - Next Poem
-
Akihagi o shigarami fusete naku shika no
me ni wa miezu te oto no sayakesa