筑波嶺の峰のもみぢ葉落ち積もり
知るも知らぬもなべてかなしも
知るも知らぬもなべてかなしも
- Roma-ji
-
Tsukubane no mine no momijiba ochitsumori shiru mo shiranu mo namete kanashi mo
- English Translation
-
On Mount Tsukuba
the autumn leaves of the peak
fall and pile up so:
those I know and those I don't,
all alike, how dear they are.
- Meaning
- As the autumn leaves of Tsukuba's peak fall and pile up together, so everyone, known or unknown, is equally dear to me.
- Commentary
-
Book Twenty Poems of the Bureau of Court Song 1096
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Songs of the East: Hitachi Song"
As the autumn leaves fall and pile up on Tsukuba's peak without distinction, so the singer holds dear everyone, known and unknown alike. It is a broad-hearted song of fellowship that calls to mind the utagaki, the song-gatherings where people met and mingled on Mount Tsukuba. No author is recorded.
The Azuma-uta, songs of the East, are folk songs of the eastern provinces taken into the court, arranged by province: Michinoku, Sagami, Hitachi, Kai and Ise.
The first line, "of Mount Tsukuba," matches the preceding poem, 1095, pairing the two Hitachi songs.
The second line, "the autumn leaves on the peak," names the colored foliage of the summit.
The third line, "falling and piling up," becomes a figure for people gathering, the leaves heaped without distinction.
The fourth line, "known and unknown alike," sets opposite words side by side to take in everyone.
The last line, "all alike so dear," uses kanashi, dear, and the exclamatory mo. It ends like "their tow-ropes move the heart" in 1088 of this book, with kanashi mo.
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Tsukubane no konomo kanomo ni kage wa aredo kimi ga mikage ni masu kage wa nashi
- Next Poem
-
Kaigane o saya ni mo mishika kekere naku yokōri fuseru saya no nakayama