Sode ni sae aki no yūbe wa shirarekeri kieshi asaji ga tsuyu o kaketsutsu

English Translation

Even on my sleeves
the autumn evening is known—
as the dew that fell
from the reed grass now vanished
is cast upon them again.

Meaning

Not only in my heart but even on my sleeves the sorrow of the autumn evening makes itself known, as the dew of the reed grass that has vanished falls upon them again and again.

Commentary

Book Eight Lament Poems 778

Headnote: "Composed on meeting Princess Sukeko of the First Rank and speaking of things of the past."
This is the fourth poem of the sequence remembering the dead through the things of autumn. It says that the sorrow of the autumn evening makes itself known even on her sleeves, as the dew of the vanished reed grass falls upon them. According to the headnote, it was composed on meeting Princess Sukeko of the First Rank and talking together of the past.
A daughter of Prince Shigeakira, son of Emperor Daigo, the author served as Ise Priestess and then became a consort of Emperor Murakami, and was called the Consort of the Ise Priestess. She is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals. "Princess Sukeko of the First Rank" was a daughter of Emperor Murakami, and her mother was Empress Fujiwara no Anshi. Both women had known the reign of Emperor Murakami.
The scene is an autumn evening, and the place is not recorded.
The direct occasion is meeting Princess Sukeko and talking together of the past.

In the first line, "sode ni sae," "sae" means "even." It says that grief shows itself in visible form, not only in the heart but even on the sleeves.
The second line, "aki no yūbe wa," is the autumn evening, long sung of as the time when melancholy is deepest.
In the third line, "shirarekeri," "re" is spontaneous and "keri" exclamatory, meaning "it makes itself known unbidden." The poem pauses after the third line.
The fourth line, "kieshi asaji ga," means "of the reed grass that has vanished." Taking up "asajiwara" and "hakanaku kieshi" from the preceding poem, 777, it lays the deaths of those who shared the past over the image of dew vanishing from the reed grass.
In the last line, "tsuyu o kaketsutsu," "tsutsu" expresses repetition and continuation, meaning "as dew falls upon them again and again." The dew on the sleeves suggests tears and returns to "sode" in the first line. Through inversion, the reason for "shirarekeri" in the third line is placed in the lower verse. Where the preceding poem saw the dew on the grass as a keepsake, here the dew moves onto the sleeves, leading into "tsuyu no yadori," the lodging of dew, in the next poem, 779.

Author

Princess Kishi

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other