Akikaze ni nabiku asaji no sue goto ni oku shiratsuyu no aware yo no naka - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋風になびく浅茅の末ごとに
置く白露のあはれ世の中

Roma-ji: Akikaze ni nabiku asaji no sue goto ni oku shiratsuyu no aware yo no naka
English Translation: Like the silver dew
that settles on every tip
of the low reeds bending
in the autumn wind—ah, how sad
and fleeting is this world!
Meaning: Like the white dew settling on every blade tip of the low reeds bending in the autumn wind—ah, how sad and fleeting is this world!
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1850

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the fifth of the poems on impermanence and the first of two by Semimaru. Like the white dew settling on every tip of the low reeds bending in the autumn wind, how sad and fleeting is this world! In the dew swaying in the wind, about to scatter, he sees the frailty of the world.
The author, "Semimaru," is a figure of legend whose dates and origins are uncertain. He is said to have lived near the Ōsaka Barrier.

The first line, "akikaze ni," means "in the autumn wind," taking up the fierce wind of the preceding poem.
The second line, "nabiku asaji no," means "of the low reeds bending in the wind."
The third line, "sue goto ni," means "on every tip."
The fourth line, "oku shiratsuyu no," means "like the white dew that settles." As with "the dew that settles" of the preceding poem, it entrusts the frailty of life to dew. The lines up to here work as a preface leading to the last line.
The last line, "aware yo no naka," means "ah, this sad and fleeting world." "Aware" can be taken as an interjection or as an adjectival stem; ending on a noun, it shows deep feeling at the world's frailty.
Author: Semimaru
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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