秋萩を色どる風の吹きぬれば
人の心も疑はれけり
人の心も疑はれけり
- Roma-ji
-
Akihagi o irodoru kaze no fukinureba hito no kokoro mo utagawarekeri
- English Translation
-
Upon the bush clover
the wind that brings its color
has begun to blow,
and now even your own heart
I cannot help but doubt
- Meaning
- Now that the wind that colors the autumn bush clover has begun to blow, I find myself doubting even your heart.
- Commentary
-
Book Five Autumn Poems I 223
Headnote: "Sent by a woman around the Seventh Month."
The poet says that now the wind that colors the autumn bush clover has begun to blow, she cannot help doubting her lover's heart too. As the bush clover changes color in the autumn wind, she fears that his heart too may shift.
According to the headnote, a woman sent this around the Seventh Month. The next poem is Ariwara no Narihira's reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The headnote shows that the poet was a woman.
The first line, "Akihagi o," means "the autumn bush clover." The next poem, 224, answers with the same opening line.
The second line, "irodoru kaze no," means "the wind that colors," drawing on the idea that the autumn wind changes the colors of plants. 263 of this book likewise sings of "kusaba irodoru," the coloring of grass and leaves.
The third line, "fukinureba," means "since it has blown," with "nure" the perfective form of the completive auxiliary "nu" and "ba" giving a definite condition.
The fourth line, "hito no kokoro mo," means "your heart as well," overlaying the lover's change of heart on the bush clover that changes color.
In the last line, "re" is the continuative form of the spontaneous auxiliary "ru": "I cannot help doubting."
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Tsuyu wakeshi tamoto hosu ma mo naki mono o nado akikaze no madaki fukuran
- Next Poem
-
Akihagi o irodoru kaze wa fukinu tomo kokoro wa kareji kusaba naraneba