Ausaka no seki no iwakado fuminarashi yama tachiizuru kirihara no koma - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢坂の関の岩かど踏みならし
山立ち出づる桐原の駒

Roma-ji: Ausaka no seki no iwakado fuminarashi yama tachiizuru kirihara no koma
English Translation: At Ausaka's gate,
stamping on the rocky edges,
coming from the hills,
stepping out and on they go,
the steeds of Kirihara.
Meaning: Stamping on the rocky corners at the Ausaka Barrier, the horses of the Kirihara pasture come out from the hills.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 169

Headnote: "When I was a lesser captain and went to the Welcoming of the Horses"
The poem depicts the horses of the Kirihara pasture emerging from the hills, their hooves clattering on the rocky corners at the Ausaka Barrier. It vividly portrays the stirring spectacle of the Welcoming of the Horses through sound and movement. According to the headnote, it was composed when the author, then a lesser captain of the Palace Guards, went out for the Welcoming of the Horses. This was an event in the Eighth Month in which horses presented from pastures in the provinces were met at the Ausaka Barrier.
The author, called the Senior Assistant Governor-General Takatō, is Fujiwara no Takatō. A son of Fujiwara no Tadatoshi and an elder brother of Fujiwara no Sanesuke, he served as Senior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu and is counted among the Later Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "Ausaka no," refers to the Ausaka Barrier on the border of Yamashiro and Ōmi. The next poem, 170, also begins with "Ausaka no," so two poems on the Welcoming of the Horses stand together.
Second line, "seki no iwakado," refers to the rocky corners at the barrier.
Third line, "fuminarashi," means "stamping and clattering," letting the sound of the hooves ring out.
Fourth line, "yama tachiizuru," means "coming out of the hills."
Final line, "kirihara no koma," refers to the horses presented from the Kirihara pasture in Shinano Province, closing the poem on a noun.
Author: Fujiwara no Takato
Source: Shui Wakashu
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