心もて散らんだにこそ惜しからめ
などか紅葉に風の吹くらん
などか紅葉に風の吹くらん
- Roma-ji
-
Kokoro mote chiran dani koso oshikarame nado ka momiji ni kaze no fukuran
- English Translation
-
Even if they fell
of their own will, it would be
a sorrow to me;
why then must the wind blow so
on the leaves of autumn red?
- Meaning
- Even if the autumn leaves fell of their own accord it would be a sorrow, so why must the wind blow upon them?
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 209
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
It would be sad enough if the autumn leaves fell of their own accord, the poet says, so why must the wind blow and scatter them on purpose? The heart that grieves for the leaves is expressed as resentment toward the wind.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. The leading compiler of the Kokinshū, he wrote its Kana Preface and the Tosa Diary, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "kokoro mote," means "of their own will."
Second line, "chiran dani koso," means "even falling so," with "dani," a particle that names a lesser case to suggest a greater one, and the emphatic particle "koso," which is resolved by "me" in the third line.
Third line, "oshikarame," means "would be a sorrow," with "me," the realis form of the conjectural auxiliary "mu." The poem pauses here, and the "koso ... me" form carries a concessive sense into what follows.
Fourth line, "nado ka momiji ni," means "why upon the autumn leaves," with the questioning particle "ka," which is resolved by "ran" in the final line.
Final line, "kaze no fukuran," means "must the wind blow," with "ran," the attributive of the auxiliary of conjecture about cause. Taking up the preceding poem's leaves falling at the wind's bidding, this poem resents that very wind.
- Author
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Aki no yo ni ame to kikoete furu mono wa kaze ni shitagau momiji narikeri
- Next Poem
-
Asa madaki arashi no yama no samukereba momiji no nishiki kinu hito zo naki