Fuku kaze ni yoso no momiji wa chirikuredo kimi ga tokiwa no kage zo nodokeki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

吹く風によその紅葉は散りくれど
君が常磐の影ぞのどけき

Roma-ji: Fuku kaze ni yoso no momiji wa chirikuredo kimi ga tokiwa no kage zo nodokeki
English Translation: Upon the blowing wind
the colored leaves of elsewhere
come scattering down,
yet beneath your evergreen
the shade lies calm and tranquil.
Meaning: Though the autumn leaves of other trees come scattering on the blowing wind, the shade of your evergreen remains calm and serene.
Commentary: Book Five Celebration Poems 282

Headnote: "When the Ichijō Regent was a Middle Captain, for a folding screen at the fiftieth-birthday celebration he held for his father the Minister"
The poet says that though the leaves of other trees scatter in the wind, the shade of his lord's evergreen remains forever serene. Contrasting falling leaves with the unchanging evergreen, he praises a prosperity unshaken by the turning of time. According to the headnote, it was written for a folding screen when Fujiwara no Koretada, later the Ichijō Regent, was a Middle Captain and held the fiftieth-birthday celebration for his father, the Minister Fujiwara no Morosuke.
Ono no Yoshifuru, written with the title Ason, was a grandson of Ono no Takamura and rose to Consultant. He is known for leading the pursuit in the rebellion of Fujiwara no Sumitomo.

First line, "fuku kaze ni," means "on the blowing wind."
Second line, "yoso no momiji wa," means "the leaves of other trees."
Third line, "chirikuredo," means "though they come scattering," with "do" a concessive particle.
Fourth line, "kimi ga tokiwa no," means "of your evergreen," a figure for the lord's unchanging prosperity. It accords with "tokiwa kakiwa" in 273 of this book.
Final line, "kage zo nodokeki," means "the shade is serene," with "kage" carrying the sense of the lord's protection. The particle "zo" is resolved by the attributive "nodokeki."
Author: Ono no Yoshifuru
Source: Shui Wakashu
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