Fuyu no kite yama mo arawa ni konoha furi nokoru matsu sae mine ni sabishiki

English Translation

Winter has arrived,
and the mountain is laid bare
as the leaves fall down;
even the pines that remain
stand lonely on the peak

Meaning

Winter has come, and the leaves have fallen until the mountain lies bare; even the pines that remain look lonely upon the peak.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems 565

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed and presented on the topic 'Falling Leaves' for the Kasuga Shrine Poetry Contest."
This is the thirteenth poem of the falling-leaves sequence. Winter has come and the leaves have fallen, laying the mountain bare, and even the pines that remain look lonely on the peak. The headnote continues from the preceding poem, and this poem was composed on the topic "Falling Leaves" at the same Kasuga Shrine Poetry Contest.
The author, "Hafuribe no Narishige," is Hafuribe no Narishige. A poet of the Hafuribe family, which served as priests of the Hie Shrine in Ōmi Province, he was a son of Hafuribe no Masanaka and a grandson of Hafuribe no Narinaka.
The scene is early winter after the leaves have fallen, and the place is a mountain peak where pines remain.
As with the preceding poem, the direct occasion is the topic "Falling Leaves" at the Kasuga Shrine Poetry Contest of Genkyū 1 (1204).
This poem was highly praised by Retired Emperor Go-Toba, and Narishige is said to have been raised to the Fifth Rank in recognition of his poetry at this contest. In later times, however, Kenkō's Tsurezuregusa, section 14, records that the poem had come to be called a worthless scrap of verse.

The first line, "fuyu no kite," means "winter having come," with "no" marking the subject. Following the storm-blown days of the preceding poems, the arrival of winter is here put into words.
The second line, "yama mo arawa ni," depicts the mountain's bare slopes exposed once the leaves have fallen.
The third line, "konoha furi," shows the leaves falling like rain and continues into the fourth line in the continuative form. The topic "Falling Leaves" of the sequence appears here as the bare mountain left after the leaves have fallen.
In the fourth line, "nokoru matsu sae," "sae" is an adverbial particle of addition meaning "even." Evergreen pines were held to keep their color through winter, yet even they are said to look lonely.
The last line, "mine ni sabishiki," closes on the attributive form of the adjective "sabishi," leaving a lingering resonance. The poem turns its eye not to the falling leaves but to the loneliness of what remains, depicting the peak, seen since "mine no arashi" in 557 of this book, through the bare mountain and its pines.

Author

Hafuribe no Narishige

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other