Tokiwa naru aoba no yama mo aki kureba iro koso kaene sabishikarikeri - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

常磐なる青葉の山も秋来れば
色こそ変へね寂しかりけり

Roma-ji: Tokiwa naru aoba no yama mo aki kureba iro koso kaene sabishikarikeri
English Translation: Even the mountain
of ever-changeless green leaves,
when autumn has come,
though it does not change its hue,
how lonely it appears!
Meaning: Even the evergreen mountain of green leaves, when autumn comes, looks lonely, though it does not change its color.
Commentary: Book Four Autumn Poems I 273

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed as an autumn poem"
Like the preceding poem, this was composed on "autumn." Even the mountain covered in evergreen leaves, which never changes, looks lonely when autumn comes, though it does not turn red and keeps its color. Without the visible sign of changing color, the poem shows that autumn's loneliness reaches even the evergreen mountains.
The author, "Former Archbishop Kakuchū," is Kakuchū, son of Regent Fujiwara no Tadamichi, who became a Tendai monk and rose to Tendai Abbot and Archbishop.
"Iro wa kawarade oto zo mi ni shimu" in 232 of this book likewise feels autumn in evergreen pines whose color does not change, sharing this poem's conceit. Where 232 knew autumn by sound, this poem feels it through the loneliness of a whole mountain.

First line, "tokiwa naru": "tokiwa" means everlasting, evergreen.
Second line, "aoba no yama mo": "even the mountain of green leaves," the "mo" implying "just like the mountains that turn red."
Third line, "aki kureba": "when autumn comes," a line also used in 242 and 257 of this book.
Fourth line, "iro koso kaene": "koso" closes with the realized form "ne" and continues concessively: "though it does not change its color." It shares the conceit of "iro wa kawarade" in 232 of this book.
Fifth line, "sabishikarikeri": "keri" expresses realization: though the color is unchanged, the poet finds autumn's loneliness felt all the same.
Author: Kakuchū
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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