though from the selfsame branch
the leaves begin to change their hues—
it is from the west
that autumn first arrives, and thus
the turning colors come to be.

Meaning

Though they are from the same branch, the leaves begin to change color from the west; it is from the west that autumn first begins.

Commentary

Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)

In the reign of Emperor Seiwa, at the Ryōkiden, a branch of a plum tree that extended toward the west began to turn color, and the courtiers composed poems on it; this poem was composed on that occasion.

According to the theory of the Five Elements, east corresponds to spring, south to summer, west to autumn, and north to winter. Thus, the reason the leaves began to change on the western branch is expressed as autumn arriving from the west.

Author

Fujiwara no Katsumine

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

in the godless month though the drizzling rains have yet to fall from the sky, already the sacred grove of Kannabi shifts its hues.
in the god-haunted hills of Kannabi, the maple leaves— I shall not set my heart upon them, for they fade away and change their hues in time.
since the very day the autumn wind began to blow, on Mount Otowa even the treetops on the peak have taken on autumn hues.
though white dew bears but a single hue—how is it that in autumn the leaves upon the trees are dyed into a thousand differing shades?

though from the selfsame branch the leaves begin to change their hues— it is from the west that autumn first arrives, and thus the turning colors come to be.

though from the selfsame branch
the leaves begin to change their hues—
it is from the west
that autumn first arrives, and thus
the turning colors come to be.