Momijiba wa oshiki nishiki to mishikadomo shigure to tomo ni furidete zo koshi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

紅葉葉ををしき錦と見しかども
時雨とともにふりでてぞ来し

Roma-ji: Momijiba wa oshiki nishiki to mishikadomo shigure to tomo ni furidete zo koshi
English Translation: The autumn leaves
I saw as a brocade
too dear to leave behind,
yet with the falling showers
I shook myself free and came
Meaning: Though I saw the autumn leaves as a brocade too precious to leave, I shook myself free and came away, just as the showers began to fall.
Commentary: Book Eight Winter Poems 454

Headnote: "Around the tenth month, he went to meet Ōe no Chifuru, but Chifuru was away; after coming home he inquired and sent this."
The poet says that although he saw the autumn leaves as a brocade too precious to leave, he shook himself free and came away as the showers began to fall. Drawn by the beautiful leaves at Chifuru's house, he conveys his reluctance at having to leave because the master was not at home.
According to the headnote, around the tenth month he called on Ōe no Chifuru, found him away, and sent this after returning home. The next poem is Chifuru's reply, and the two form a pair of exchanged poems.
The poet, called "Fujiwara no Tadafusa Ason," was an official and poet of the early Heian period. Of the Kyōke branch of the Fujiwara, he served as Master of the Right Capital Office and in other posts. Gifted in music, he is said to have composed the court dance piece "Kochō." He is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals of the Middle Ages.

The first line, "Momijiba wa," means "the autumn leaves," answered by "momijiba mo," which opens the next poem.
The second line, "oshiki nishiki to," means "as a brocade too dear to lose," likening the leaves to woven brocade.
In the third line, "shika" is the perfective form of the past auxiliary "ki": "though I saw them so."
The fourth line, "shigure to tomo ni," means "together with the showers," the same line as the second line of 451 in this book.
In the last line, "furide" is a pivot word meaning both "shaking oneself free" and the showers "beginning to fall," and it also echoes "furiizu," to dye cloth, an associated word with "nishiki." The particle "zo" and the attributive "shi" make a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Fujiwara no Tadanobu
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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