おく山の岩垣もみぢ散りぬべし
てる日のひかり見る時なくて
てる日のひかり見る時なくて
- Roma-ji
-
Okuyama no iwagaki momiji chirinubeshi
teru hi no hikari miru toki nakute - English Translation
-
in the deep mountains
on rocky cliffs, the maple leaves
seem about to fall—
never once seeing the light
of the sun that brightly shines
- Meaning
- In the deep mountains, the maple leaves clinging to rocky cliffs seem ready to fall, never having seen the shining light of the sun.
- Commentary
-
Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed while the poet, long absent from court service, lived in seclusion in a mountain village.
“The shining light of the sun” alludes to the emperor, while “the maple leaves on rocky cliffs deep in the mountains” represent the poet himself. Unable to serve at court due to illness or other reasons, he compares his secluded life to leaves about to fall, expressing a sense of resignation toward a quiet and solitary end.
The poet, Fujiwara no Sekio, after holding various court positions, withdrew due to illness and lived in the Higashiyama area. He excelled in the koto and calligraphy and was known as the “Higashiyama Scholar.”
- Author
- Fujiwara no Sekiwo
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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- from the place it bloomed now moved to another dwelling— chrysanthemum flowers, even in their very hue have come to change as well
- on Mount Saho’s slopes the oak leaves, now turning gold, seem about to fall— so even through the night, see them, the moonlight shines and reveals
- on Tatsuta River maple leaves in wild disorder flow along its course— if I should try to cross it, would that brocade not be torn?
- on Tatsuta River maple leaves drift with the flow— in the sacred hills of Mimuro, high among the gods, showers must be falling now