Aki to ieba Iwata no ono no hahasohara shigure mo matazu momijishinikeri - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋といへば岩田の小野の柞原
時雨も待たず紅葉しにけり

Roma-ji: Aki to ieba Iwata no ono no hahasohara shigure mo matazu momijishinikeri
English Translation: Since it is autumn,
on the moor of Iwata
the oaks in their grove,
not waiting for the showers,
have turned to autumn hues
Meaning: Merely because it is autumn, the oak grove on the moor of Iwata has turned color without waiting for the cold showers.
Commentary: Book Five Autumn Poems II 368

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Merely because autumn has come, the poet says, the oak grove on the moor of Iwata has turned color without even waiting for the cold showers that are supposed to dye the leaves. Turning the common notion that showers dye the leaves on its head, he expresses how quickly the oaks color at the mere arrival of autumn.
The author, "Kakujō Hōshi," was a monk of the cloistered-rule period, but little is known of his life.
353 of this book sang of Mount Katsuragi coloring soon after the first shower, and this poem goes further, singing of an oak grove that colors without waiting for the showers at all. It also answers 374 of this book, both singing of an oak grove and ending with the same line, "momijishinikeri."

First line, "aki to ieba": "merely because it is autumn."
Second line, "Iwata no ono no": the moor of Iwata is a famed place in Yamashiro, known for its oaks.
Third line, "hahasohara": a grove where hahaso trees grow together, the hahaso being oaks of the konara and kunugi kind. It sings of the same tree as "hahaso ga hara" in 374 and "hahaso no momiji" in 375 of this book.
Fourth line, "shigure mo matazu": "without waiting for the cold showers" thought to dye the leaves, going further than "hatsushigure furu hodo mo naku" in 353 of this book.
Fifth line, "momijishinikeri": "ni" is perfective and "keri" exclamatory. 374 of this book ends with the same line.
Author: Kakusei
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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