Okuyama no ko no ha no otsuru akikaze ni taedae mine no kumo zo nokoreru - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

奥山の木の葉の落つる秋風に
絶え絶え峰の雲ぞ残れる

Roma-ji: Okuyama no ko no ha no otsuru akikaze ni taedae mine no kumo zo nokoreru
English Translation: In the autumn wind
that makes the leaves go falling
in the deep mountains,
here and there, in broken shreds,
clouds still linger on the peaks.
Meaning: In the autumn wind that sends the leaves falling in the deep mountains, clouds still linger here and there in broken shreds upon the peaks.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1524

Headnote: "Among the poems I presented when I made a pilgrimage to Kumano."
This is the fourth poem of the sequence on the moon lingering at dawn. It sings of clouds lingering in broken shreds on the peaks in the autumn wind that sends the leaves falling in the deep mountains. The word "moon" does not appear in this poem, but it forms a pair with the next poem, depicting the mountain scene before the moon shines clear. According to the headnote, it is one of the poems presented to Retired Emperor Go-Toba during a pilgrimage to Kumano.
The author, "Fujiwara no Hideyoshi," was the son of Fujiwara no Hidemune. He served Retired Emperor Go-Toba as a warrior of the North Guard and was also made a Fellow of the Bureau of Poetry.
Kumano refers to the three Kumano shrines in Kii, to which pilgrimages by retired emperors flourished in the period of cloistered rule.

The first line, "okuyama no," refers to deep mountains far from human settlements. It takes up "miyama" of the preceding poem.
The second line, "ko no ha no otsuru," describes leaves scattering and falling in the autumn wind.
The third line, "akikaze ni," presents the autumn wind that makes the leaves fall and blows the clouds away.
In the fourth line, "taedae mine no," "taedae" means "in broken shreds." It expresses clouds torn apart by the autumn wind.
The last line, "kumo zo nokoreru," closes the kakari-musubi of the particle "zo" with the attributive form "nokoreru." It presents the scene of clouds still lingering on the peaks, linking to the next poem, in which the drifting clouds vanish and the moon shines clear.
Author: Fujiwara no Hideyoshi
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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