時待ちて降れるしぐれの雨やみぬ
明けむ朝か山のもみたむ
明けむ朝か山のもみたむ
- Roma-ji
-
Toki machite fureru shigure no ame yaminu akemu ashita ka yama no momitamu
- English Translation
-
Waiting for their time,
the showers of autumn rain
that fell have now stopped:
when the morning dawns, will then
the mountains blaze with color?
- Meaning
- The autumn showers, which waited for their season to fall, have stopped; when morning dawns, will the mountains have turned to autumn colors?
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1551
Headnote: "A poem by Prince Ichihara"
The autumn showers that waited for their season have stopped, and the poet looks forward to seeing the mountains colored when morning dawns. Based on the belief that autumn showers color the leaves, it expresses eager anticipation of tomorrow's mountain scene.
The author, Prince Ichihara, was a son of Prince Aki and a member of the imperial family in the Nara period. He served as Director of the Office for the Construction of Tōdaiji, among other posts.
The first line means "waiting for their season," showing that these showers come with autumn.
The second line names the showers that fell; shigure are rains that come and go from autumn into winter.
The third line, with the perfective "nu," states that the rain has stopped, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, with the particle "ka," leads into a surmise about the dawning morning.
The final line forms a kakari-musubi, closing in the attributive of the conjectural "mu" in answer to "ka," as the poet looks forward to the mountains' coloring. In 1553, two poems later in this book, showers fall without pause and Mount Mikasa turns color, so the link between showers and autumn leaves is sung in succession.
- Author
- Prince Ichihara
- Source
- Manyoshu
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