紅葉葉を手ごとに折りて帰りなん
風の心もうしろめたきに
風の心もうしろめたきに
- Roma-ji
-
Momijiba o te goto ni orite kaerinan kaze no kokoro mo ushirometaki ni
- English Translation
-
Let us break a spray
of the autumn leaves each one
and go home with them,
for the heart of the wind, too,
leaves us anxious for their sake.
- Meaning
- Let each of us break off a spray of autumn leaves and take it home, for we cannot trust the wind's intentions.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 200
Headnote: "When the courtiers went to the Ōi River to see the autumn leaves in the reign of Tenryaku"
Fearing that the wind may scatter the leaves, the poet proposes that each of them break off a spray of autumn leaves and take it home. The poem expresses regret for the leaves in the form of wariness toward the wind. According to the headnote, it was composed when the courtiers went to the Ōi River to view the autumn leaves in the Tenryaku era of Emperor Murakami.
Minamoto no Nobumitsu Ason was a son of Prince Yoshiakira, himself a son of Emperor Daigo, and rose to Provisional Major Counselor.
First line, "momijiba o," the same first line as 195 of this book, refers to the autumn leaves of the Ōi River. The next poem, 201, comes from the same occasion, and the two form a pair over whether to break off the leaves or not.
Second line, "te goto ni orite," means "each breaking off a spray in hand."
Third line, "kaerinan," means "let us go home," with "na" for emphasis and "n" as a volitional auxiliary. The poem pauses here, in inverted order with the second half.
Fourth line, "kaze no kokoro mo," means "the wind's intentions too," personifying the wind that scatters the leaves.
Final line, "ushirometaki ni," means "since they are worrying," giving after the fact, by inversion, the reason for breaking off the leaves to take home.
- Author
- Minamoto no Nobumitsu
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Kinō yori kyō wa masareru momijiba no asu no iro o ba mide ya yaminan
- Next Poem
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Eda nagara mite o kaeran momijiba wa oran hodo ni mo chiri mo koso sure