秋山の嵐の声を聞く時は
木の葉ならねど物ぞ悲しき
木の葉ならねど物ぞ悲しき
- Roma-ji
-
Akiyama no arashi no koe o kiku toki wa konoha naranedo mono zo kanashiki
- English Translation
-
In the autumn hills,
whenever I hear the voice
of the stormy wind,
though I am not a leaf myself,
all things fill me with such grief.
- Meaning
- When I hear the voice of the storm wind in the autumn hills, though I am no leaf, I am filled with sadness.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 207
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Hearing the storm wind raging through the autumn hills, the poet feels a vague sorrow, though he is not one of the leaves the storm scatters. The poem expresses how the storm that scatters the leaves shakes even his own heart.
The author, written as Archbishop Henjō, was born Yoshimine no Munesada, a grandson of Emperor Kanmu. He took holy orders upon the death of Emperor Ninmyō and rose to the rank of archbishop. He is counted among the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "akiyama no," means "of the autumn hills."
Second line, "arashi no koe o," means "the sound of the raging mountain wind." Following "arashi" in 205 of this book, the storm wind is sung of again.
Third line, "kiku toki wa," means "when I hear it."
Fourth line, "konoha naranedo," means "though I am not a leaf," comparing himself with the leaves scattered by the storm.
Final line, "mono zo kanashiki," means "all is sad," with "zo" resolved by the attributive "kanashiki." Like the final line of 205, "koe zo kanashiki," it ends with "zo kanashiki," so poems on grief in the storm answer each other.
- Author
- Henjō
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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