遅く疾く色づく山の紅葉葉は
後れ先立つ露や置くらん
後れ先立つ露や置くらん
- Roma-ji
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Osoku toku irozuku yama no momijiba wa okure sakidatsu tsuyu ya okuran
- English Translation
-
Later or sooner
the hills take on their colors—
upon their leaves,
does the dew, some late, some early,
come to lie each in its turn
- Meaning
- Do the autumn leaves of the hills color late or early because the dew comes to lie on them, some of it lagging behind and some going on ahead?
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Autumn Poems III 381
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet wonders whether the leaves of the hills color late or early because some dew settles later and some earlier. Drawing on the idea that dew dyes the leaves, it explains the timing of the colors by the timing of the dew.
Leaving the lament of the preceding poem, it turns again to the autumn leaves of the hills themselves. "Okure sakidatsu," lagging behind and going on ahead, is also used of the order in which people die, so the timing of the leaves echoes the transience of the world.
The poet, called "Motokata," is Ariwara no Motokata. A son of Ariwara no Muneyana and a grandson of Ariwara no Narihira, he is known as the author of "toshi no uchi ni haru wa kinikeri," the opening poem of the Kokin Wakashū.
The first line, "Osoku toku," means "late and early."
The second line, "irozuku yama no," means "of the hills that take on color."
The third line, "momijiba wa," means "the colored leaves."
The fourth line, "okure sakidatsu," means "lagging behind and going ahead," corresponding to "osoku toku" in the first line.
In the last line, "ya" is an interrogative particle and "ran" an auxiliary of conjecture forming a kakarimusubi pattern: "does the dew settle so?" "Okure" in the fourth line and "oku," to settle, repeat the sound "oku."
- Author
- Ariwara no Motokata
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Kimi to ware Imose no yama mo aki kureba iro kawarinuru mono ni zo arikeru
- Next Poem
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Kaku bakari momizuru iro no kokereba ya nishiki Tatsuta no yama to iuran