大君の御笠の山の黄葉は
今日の時雨に散りか過ぎなむ
今日の時雨に散りか過ぎなむ
- Roma-ji
-
Ōkimi no mikasa no yama no momichiba wa kyō no shigure ni chiri ka suginamu
- English Translation
-
Of our great sovereign,
on the mountain of Mikasa,
the autumn leaves there,
in the showers of today,
will they scatter and be gone?
- Meaning
- Will the colored leaves of Mount Mikasa fall away in today's autumn showers?
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1554
Headnote: "A poem in reply by Ōtomo no Yakamochi"
Replying to Ōtomo no Inakimi's preceding poem, in which Mount Mikasa turned color in the showers, Yakamochi worries that those leaves may fall in today's showers. Showers both dye and scatter the leaves, and against the preceding poem's delight in the colors, he answers with regret for their falling.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was a son of Ōtomo no Tabito and an official of the Nara period. He rose to the post of Middle Counselor, is thought to have been closely involved in compiling the Man'yōshū, and left more poems than anyone else in the anthology. Ōtomo no Inakimi, author of the preceding poem, was Yakamochi's uncle.
The first line, "ōkimi no," is a pillow word for "Mikasa," from the canopy held over the sovereign.
The second line takes up "Mount Mikasa" of the preceding poem.
The third line refers to the leaves of the treetops that turned color in the preceding poem.
The fourth line means "in the showers falling today."
The final line, with the interrogative "ka," perfective "na," and conjectural "mu," worries whether they will fall. The same final line appears in 1557 and 1651 of this book, so poems regretting flowers and leaves scattered by rain or snow are placed in autumn and winter.
- Author
- Otomo no Yakamochi
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Shigure no ame manaku shi fureba mikasayama konure amaneku irozukinikeri
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Aki tachite ikuka mo araneba kono nenuru asake no kaze wa tamoto samushi mo