山里は冬ぞさびしさまさりける
人目も草もかれぬと思へば
人目も草もかれぬと思へば
- Roma-ji
-
Yamazato wa fuyu zo sabishisa masarikeru
hitome mo kusa mo karenu to omoeba - English Translation
-
in a mountain village
winter deepens the loneliness—
for when I think on it
no people come, and even
the grasses wither away
- Meaning
- In a mountain village, winter deepens the loneliness—for when I think on it, no one comes, and even the grasses wither away.
- Commentary
-
Book Six Winter Poems
This poem was composed as a winter poem.
It is also included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The scene depicts a mountain dwelling in winter, where fallen leaves and withered grasses spread across the landscape, intensifying the sense of desolation.
“Kare nu” carries a double meaning, referring both to people departing and to plants withering.
- Author
- Minamoto no Muneyuki
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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- had I known the way I would have gone to seek it— scattering maple leaves as offerings along the path autumn has already gone
- the Tatsuta River weaves and spreads brocade— in the godless month with showers of passing rain as warp and weft entwined
- in the vast open sky the moonlight falls so pure— that the water below which held its shining image was the first of all to freeze
- as evening falls on my sleeves grow cold with the chill— in fair Yoshino upon the mountain slopes snow must be falling now