Kannazuki kagiri to ya omou momijiba no yamu toki mo naku yoru sae ni furu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

神無月限りとや思ふ紅葉葉の
やむ時もなく夜さへに降る

Roma-ji: Kannazuki kagiri to ya omou momijiba no yamu toki mo naku yoru sae ni furu
English Translation: The Godless Month—
do they think it is the end?
The autumn leaves
without a moment's pause
fall even through the night
Meaning: Do they think the tenth month is their last? The autumn leaves keep falling without pause, even through the night.
Commentary: Book Eight Winter Poems 456

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet wonders whether the autumn leaves think the tenth month is their last, for they keep falling without pause, even through the night. The leaves hurrying to scatter are seen as if they knew their end was near and lamented it.
Like 451 in this book, it places "kannazuki" in the first line and sings of leaves falling thick and fast. Treating the leaves as "falling" like rain, the conceit suits the season of showers.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Kannazuki," is another name for the tenth lunar month, the same word that opens 451.
In the second line, "ya" is an interrogative particle forming a kakarimusubi pattern with the attributive "omou": "do they think it is the end?" The poem pauses here.
The third line, "momijiba no," means "the autumn leaves," marking the subject.
The fourth line, "yamu toki mo naku," means "without ever ceasing," describing the scattering leaves in terms that recall rain.
In the last line, "sae ni" means "even": "they fall even through the night."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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