秋霧の峰にも尾にもたつ山は
紅葉の錦たまらざりけり
紅葉の錦たまらざりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Akigiri no mine ni mo o ni mo tatsu yama wa momiji no nishiki tamarazarikeri
- English Translation
-
On the hills where mist
of autumn rises and cuts
on peak and ridge alike,
the brocade of autumn leaves
cannot stay for very long.
- Meaning
- On hills where the autumn mist rises on peaks and ridges alike, as if cutting cloth, the brocade of autumn leaves does not remain.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 211
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
On hills where autumn mist rises over both peaks and ridges, even the brocade of autumn leaves does not stay, the poet says. With "tatsu" meaning both mist rising and brocade being cut, the poem wittily portrays the leaves vanishing as though the mist had cut the brocade apart.
The author, written as Yoshinobu, is Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu. From the Ōnakatomi family, who served as chief priests of the Ise Shrine, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū and in reading the Man'yōshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "akigiri no," refers to the mist rising in autumn. Following 196 and 206 of this book, autumn leaves and autumn mist are paired again.
Second line, "mine ni mo o ni mo," means "on the peaks and on the ridges."
Third line, "tatsu yama wa," is a pivot word in which "tatsu" means both mist rising and brocade being cut. It is the same conceit as "tatamaku" in 196.
Fourth line, "momiji no nishiki," likens the autumn leaves to brocade, the same phrase as in the preceding poem. Whereas the preceding poem sang of brocade worn on people's bodies, this one sings of brocade that does not remain on the hills.
Final line, "tamarazarikeri," means "does not remain," with "keri" expressing the exclamation of realization.
- Author
- Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Asa madaki arashi no yama no samukereba momiji no nishiki kinu hito zo naki
- Next Poem
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Iroiro no konoha nagaruru ōigawa shimo wa katsura no momiji to ya min