Even the foot of
the tree I saw once, that time,
when the flowers were
at their height—even that place
is desolate in autumn

Meaning

Even the foot of the tree I glimpsed once when the flowers were at their height is desolate now in autumn.

Commentary

Part Three: Agemaki

　One of five poems exchanged by the young lords who went with Niou to Uji on his maple-viewing party. The Consultant Captain, a son of Yugiri, sets his memory of the cherry in spring against the autumn scene before him. Beneath the brilliance of the outing, Niou was not being allowed near the house of the sisters.

　In ki no moto the syllable ko is taken by some to sound as ko, child, and so to point at the daughters who lost their father. Itsu zo ya mo is at some time before, recalling the spring cherry in the Shiigamoto chapter. Setting one place in spring against the same place in autumn is a standard turn, and with the four poems that follow it fixes the outsider's view of the villa from a distance.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Even the foot of the tree I saw once, that time, when the flowers were at their height—even that place is desolate in autumn

Even the foot of
the tree I saw once, that time,
when the flowers were
at their height—even that place
is desolate in autumn