Usugiri no tachimau yama no momijiba wa sayaka naranedo sore to miekeri

English Translation

On the mountainside
where a light mist drifts and whirls
the bright autumn leaves,
though they are not clearly seen,
can be known for what they are

Meaning

On the mountain where a light mist drifts and whirls, the autumn leaves are not clearly seen, yet they can be recognized for what they are.

Commentary

Book Five Autumn Poems II 524

Headnote: "On the topic 'autumn leaves seen through mist.'"
This is the second poem of the autumn-leaves sequence. The autumn leaves on a mountain veiled in drifting mist are not clearly seen, yet can be recognized. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic "autumn leaves seen through mist."
The author was a son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa and father of Retired Emperor Go-Toba.
The scene is autumn as the leaves color, on a mountain veiled in drifting mist.
The direct occasion was the topic "autumn leaves seen through mist."

The first line, "usugiri no," is a thin mist, corresponding to "mist" in the topic.
In the second line, "tachimau" describes mist rising and drifting about.
In the third line, "wa" marks the autumn leaves of the topic as the subject.
In the fourth line, "sayaka" means distinct and "do" is concessive: the leaves are not clearly visible through the mist.
In the last line, "keri" is exclamatory: "they can be known for what they are." Though screened by mist, the leaves are recognized by the color showing through, rendering "seen through" in the topic. In 495 the hedge of mist hid even the sleeves of distant people; here the leaves are recognized through the mist, turning the mist's barrier toward visibility.

Author

Retired Emperor Takakura

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other