Watatsumi no kami ni tamukuru yamahime no nusa o zo hito wa momiji to iikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

わたつみの神に手向くる山姫の
幣をぞ人は紅葉と言ひける

Roma-ji: Watatsumi no kami ni tamukuru yamahime no nusa o zo hito wa momiji to iikeru
English Translation: The offering strips
that the mountain princess gives
to the god of the sea—
those are what people,
it seems, have called autumn leaves
Meaning: What people have been calling autumn leaves are, it seems, the offering strips the mountain princess presents to the god of the sea.
Commentary: Book Seven Autumn Poems III 419

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that what people have called autumn leaves are the offering strips the mountain goddess presents to the god of the sea. It likens leaves that flow down rivers into the sea to offerings sent by the goddess of the mountains to the god of the sea.
It is the third of the poems beginning with 417 of this book that pair the sea with autumn leaves. It ties the course of leaves passing from the mountains down rivers to the sea into an offering from the mountain deity to the sea deity.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Watatsumi no," means "of the sea," the same word as the third line of 417 of this book.
The second line, "kami ni tamukuru," means "offered to the god," showing gifts presented to the sea god.
The third line, "yamahime no," means "of the goddess who guards the mountains."
In the fourth line, "nusa" are strips of cloth or paper offered to the gods, to which the many-colored leaves are likened. "Zo" is a binding particle.
The last line, "momiji to iikeru," means "they have called them autumn leaves," with "zo" in the fourth line and the attributive "keru" forming a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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