the autumn leaves
flow on and come to rest
at the river’s mouth—
there, do waves arise
deeply dyed in crimson

Meaning

Where the autumn leaves flow down and come to rest at the river’s mouth—do waves arise there, deeply dyed in crimson?

Commentary

Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)

Composed when the Empress of Nijō (Fujiwara no Takako), while still called the Crown Prince’s Consort, took as her theme a screen painting in the palace depicting autumn leaves flowing along the Tatsuta River.

The poem imagines where the scattered leaves, covering the river, would finally gather as they flow downstream.

Screen poems, composed on the themes of painted screens, were widely created in the Heian period. The vivid redness of the painting must have left a strong impression.

“Miyasudokoro” refers to the mother of the Crown Prince.

“Minato” means the place where a river flows into the sea, that is, the river’s mouth.

Author

Sosei Hoshi

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

warp threads of white frost and weft threads of the dew— how weak they must be; the brocade of the mountain once woven, at once falls apart
a man in loneliness who comes apart to stand beneath a certain tree— even the shade he trusted is gone, the leaves all fallen
even in ages of gods never once has it been heard— the Tatsuta River binding its flowing waters in deep-dyed scarlet
even the path I came I no longer can discern— on Mount Kurabu, dark, as the leaves of many trees fall in a blinding scatter

the autumn leaves flow on and come to rest at the river’s mouth— there, do waves arise deeply dyed in crimson

the autumn leaves
flow on and come to rest
at the river’s mouth—
there, do waves arise
deeply dyed in crimson