味酒三輪のはふりの山照らす
秋の黄葉の散らまく惜しも
秋の黄葉の散らまく惜しも
- Roma-ji
-
Umasake miwa no hafuri no yama terasu aki no momichi no chiramaku oshi mo
- English Translation
-
Of the finest wine,
the priests of Miwa honor
the mountain it lights,
the autumn's colored leaves:
how I grieve to see them fall
- Meaning
- How I regret that the autumn leaves which light up the mountain of the Miwa priests must fall.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1517
Headnote: "A poem by Prince Nagaya"
The poet regrets that the autumn leaves lighting up Mount Miwa, worshiped as a mountain of the gods, must soon fall. The splendor of leaves adorning a sacred mountain and the regret for them are sung with dignity.
The author, Prince Nagaya, was a grandson of Emperor Tenmu and a son of Prince Takechi. He rose to Minister of the Left but, accused of treason in Jinki 6 (729), took his own life.
The first line, "umasake," is a pillow word for "Miwa," since sacred wine offered to the gods was called "miwa."
In the second line, "hafuri" means a priest who serves the gods, so the line means "the mountain the priests of Miwa worship."
The third line means "that light up the mountain," likening the vivid color of the leaves to light.
The fourth line names the autumn leaves adorning the mountain.
The final line means "how I regret that they will fall," closing with the exclamatory "mo." The same final line appears in 1594 of this book, which regrets the falling of the crimson mountain in the autumn showers.
- Author
- Prince Nagaya
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Akiyama ni momitsu konoha no utsurinaba sara ni ya aki o mimaku horisemu
- Next Poem
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Amanogawa aimuki tachite aga koishi kimi kimasu nari himo toki makena