Hatsuseyama yūkoe kurete yado toeba miwa no hibara ni akikaze zo fuku - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

初瀬山夕越え暮れて宿問へば
三輪の檜原に秋風ぞ吹く

Roma-ji: Hatsuseyama yūkoe kurete yado toeba miwa no hibara ni akikaze zo fuku
English Translation: Crossing Hatsuse's
mountain as the evening fell,
I asked for lodging;
through the cypress groves of Miwa
only the autumn wind blows.
Meaning: Crossing Mount Hatsuse at evening as night came on, I asked where I might lodge, but only the autumn wind blew through the cypress groves of Miwa.
Commentary: Book Ten Travel Poems 966

Headnote: "Composed on the road on a pilgrimage to Hatsuse around the ninth month."
This is the second of a sequence of poems on scenes and thoughts along the road. Crossing Mount Hatsuse at evening, the traveler asks for lodging, but only the autumn wind blows through the cypress groves of Miwa, dusk on a road in search of shelter. According to the headnote, it was composed on the road on a pilgrimage to Hatsuse around the ninth month.
The author, Zenshō, was a monk and poet of the late Heian period.
The scene is an evening in the ninth month, on the road from Mount Hatsuse to the cypress groves at the foot of Mount Miwa in Yamato Province.
The direct occasion is composition on the road on a pilgrimage to Hatsuse.
The "Hatsuse" of the headnote is the place in Yamato Province where Hasedera stands.

The first line, "hatsuseyama," is the mountain of Hasedera in Yamato, a famous place. The headnote of 923 also tells of a pilgrimage to Hatsuse.
The second line, "yūkoe kurete," means "crossing at evening, as night fell." It shows night falling in the middle of a mountain crossing.
The third line, "yado toeba," means "when I asked for lodging." The realis form with "ba" turns to what follows. Like "izuku ni ka koyoi wa yado o" in 952, it sings of seeking lodging at nightfall.
The fourth line, "miwa no hibara ni," means "in the cypress groves of Miwa." The cypress groves of Miwa are a famous place in Yamato.
The last line, "akikaze zo fuku," means "only the autumn wind blows." The particle "zo" is answered by the attributive "fuku." It shows the loneliness of finding only the autumn wind to answer the call for lodging. It is the same last line as 920: there the dawn autumn wind crosses the rice leaves with the stag's cry, while here the evening autumn wind crosses the cypress groves.
Author: Zenshō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Michi no be no kusa no aoba ni koma tomete nao furusato o kaerimiru kana
Next Poem: Saranu dani aki no tabine wa kanashiki ni matsu ni fuku nari toko no yamakaze