竜田姫たむくる神のあればこそ
秋の木の葉のぬさと散るらめ
秋の木の葉のぬさと散るらめ
- Roma-ji
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Tatsutahime tamukuru kami no areba koso
aki no ko no ha no nusa to chirurame - English Translation
-
since there is a god
who makes offerings to Tatsuta
the goddess fair—
the autumn leaves must fall
like sacred streamers scattered
- Meaning
- Because there is a god who makes offerings to Tatsuta-hime, the autumn leaves must fall like sacred streamers.
- Commentary
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Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)
A poem on autumn.
Tatsuta-hime was regarded as the goddess of autumn, enshrined at Tatsuta Shrine west of Nara. As she departs—that is, at the end of autumn—the falling leaves are imagined as offerings (nusa) made to her.
“Nusa” are offerings to the gods, also associated with gifts at departure. The idea that autumn ends because Tatsuta-hime leaves, and that the leaves become offerings to her, gives the poem its distinctive charm.
- Author
- Kanramu Ou
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Miru hito mo nakute chirinuru okuyama no
momiji wa yoru no nishiki narikeri - Next Poem
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Aki no yama momiji o nusa to tamukureba
sumu ware sae zo tabigokochi suru