雲かかる遠山畑の秋されば
思ひやるだに悲しきものを
思ひやるだに悲しきものを
- Roma-ji
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Kumo kakaru tōyamabata no aki sareba omoiyaru dani kanashiki mono o
- English Translation
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When autumn comes round
to the far-off mountain fields
where the clouds hang low,
even to imagine it
brings such sorrow to the heart.
- Meaning
- When autumn comes to the far-off mountain fields where the clouds hang low, merely imagining it is sad enough—how much more for those who live there.
- Commentary
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Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1562
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the third poem of the sequence expressing personal feelings through the things of autumn. When autumn comes to far-off mountain fields where clouds hang low, merely imagining it is sad, the poet says—how much more for those who live there. The headnote reads "topic unknown," and records nothing of the circumstances of composition.
The author, "Saigyō Hōshi," had the lay name Satō Norikiyo. He served Retired Emperor Toba as a warrior of the North Guard, but took the tonsure at twenty-three and traveled through the provinces, leaving many poems.
The first line, "kumo kakaru," means "where the clouds hang." It shows how high and far the mountains are.
The second line, "tōyamabata no," refers to fields on distant mountains. It suggests a life in mountains far from villages.
The third line, "aki sareba," means "when autumn comes." "Saru" refers to a season arriving.
In the fourth line, "omoiyaru dani," "dani" means "even." It cites the lesser case: merely imagining it from afar.
The last line, "kanashiki mono o," uses the concessive "mono o," meaning "sad, and yet." It leaves unspoken how much sadder those who live there must be, and taking up Shunzei's laments on old age in the two preceding poems, it sings of the loneliness of autumn in the mountains.
- Author
- Saigyō
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
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Arewataru aki no niwa koso aware nare mashite kienan tsuyu no yūgure
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Kaze soyogu shino no ozasa no kari no yo o omou nezame ni tsuyu zo koboruru