竹の葉に風吹き弱る夕暮の
もののあはれは秋としもなし
もののあはれは秋としもなし
- Roma-ji
-
Take no ha ni kaze fukiyowaru yūgure no mono no aware wa aki to shimo nashi
- English Translation
-
On the bamboo leaves
the breeze grows weak and fades
as the evening falls;
the sadness that lies in things
is not of autumn alone.
- Meaning
- At dusk, as the wind in the bamboo leaves weakens and dies, the poignancy of things is by no means only autumn's.
- Commentary
-
Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1805
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the fourth of the poems expressing brooding through an autumn scene. The poignancy of the dusk when the wind in the bamboo leaves grows faint is not autumn's alone. Against the common notion that the pathos of things belongs to autumn, it holds that it lies in dusk, whatever the season.
The author, "Kunaikyō," was the daughter of Minamoto no Moromitsu and a lady-in-waiting who served Retired Emperor Go-Toba. Recognized for her talent while still young, she died early.
The first line, "take no ha ni," means "on the bamboo leaves." Bamboo keeps its color through all four seasons, and is set here as a scene not bound to any season.
The second line, "kaze fukiyowaru," means "the wind that was blowing weakens."
The third line, "yūgure no," is the close of day, set as the hour that invites brooding.
The fourth line, "mono no aware wa," means "the poignancy of things."
The last line, "aki to shimo nashi," means "is not only autumn's." "Shimo" is emphatic. Against the autumn scenes of the preceding poems, it offers the argument that pathos is not autumn's alone.
- Author
- Kunaikyo
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
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Utatane wa ogi fuku kaze ni odorokedo nagaki yumeji zo samuru toki naki
- Next Poem
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Yūgure wa kumo no keshiki o miru kara ni nagameji to omou kokoro koso tsuke