Yūmagure sate mo ya aki wa kanashiki to shika no ne kikanu hito ni towabaya - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夕まぐれさてもや秋は悲しきと
鹿の音聞かぬ人に問はばや

Roma-ji: Yūmagure sate mo ya aki wa kanashiki to shika no ne kikanu hito ni towabaya
English Translation: In the dim of dusk,
is autumn sad even so?
this I would ask
of someone who does not hear
the crying of the deer
Meaning: At dusk I would like to ask someone who never hears the deer: is autumn sad for you even so?
Commentary: Book Five Autumn Poems II 321

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed as a poem on the deer"
Composed as a poem on the deer. Is autumn dusk so sad because of the deer's voice? The poet would like to ask someone who does not hear the deer whether autumn is sad for them all the same. Wishing to learn how much of autumn's sorrow comes from the deer's voice, he sets that voice's poignancy in relief.
The author, "Dōin Hōshi," is Fujiwara no Atsuyori, son of Fujiwara no Kiyotaka, who took holy orders late in life. He was known for his deep devotion to poetry, and a poem of his is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
This is the fifth of a run of nine poems, 317 through 325, composed as "poems on the deer."

First line, "yūmagure": the dim hour of evening, binding the deer's voice to dusk as in 317 and 320 of this book.
Second line, "sate mo ya aki wa": "sate mo" means "even so," implying "even without the deer's voice," and "ya" is interrogative.
Third line, "kanashiki to": closing the "ya" of the second line in the attributive, giving the content of the question, "is it sad?"
Fourth line, "shika no ne kikanu": "who does not hear the deer," suggesting one who lives far from the mountain villages.
Fifth line, "hito ni towabaya": "baya" expresses one's own wish, "I would like to ask."
Author: Dōin
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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