秋の露いろいろことに置けばこそ
山の木の葉のちくさなるらめ
山の木の葉のちくさなるらめ
- Roma-ji
-
Aki no tsuyu iroiro koto ni okeba koso
yama no ko no ha no chigusa narurame - English Translation
-
because autumn dew
settles in many differing ways,
upon the hills
the leaves upon the trees are turned
into a thousand varied hues.
- Meaning
- Because the autumn dew settles in many different ways, the leaves of the mountain trees take on many varied colors.
- Commentary
-
Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)
People of the time believed that dew caused the leaves of plants to change color. Although dew appears to be of a single color, this poem suggests that it must in fact differ in kind, and thus gives rise to the many hues of autumn leaves.
“Chikusa” means “a thousand kinds,” that is, a great variety.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- 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 autumn night dew rests there as but dew alone— could it instead be the tears of passing wild geese that stain the fields with their hue?
- where white dew falls and even showers pass through— upon that mountain, not a single lower leaf remains but all are turned to autumn hues.
- though rain may fall and even dew should not pass through— on Mount Kasatori, how has it come to be, I wonder, that the leaves are dyed with autumn?