Karanishiki nusa ni tachimote yuku aki mo kyō ya Tamuke no yamaji koyuran - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

唐錦幣にたちもて行く秋も
今日や手向の山路越ゆらん

Roma-ji: Karanishiki nusa ni tachimote yuku aki mo kyō ya Tamuke no yamaji koyuran
English Translation: Chinese brocade
cut for offerings, setting out,
autumn on its way,
today will it cross, I wonder,
the road of Offering Mountain?
Meaning: Autumn, setting out with Chinese brocade cut into offering strips, will it cross the mountain road of Tamuke today?
Commentary: Book Five Autumn Poems II 383

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'The Last Day of the Ninth Month' at a poetry contest held at the banquet after the dedication of sutras at Ungoji"
Composed on the topic of the last day of the ninth month at a poetry contest held at the banquet after the dedication of sutras for forming karmic bonds at Ungoji. Autumn, setting out with beautiful Chinese brocade cut into offering strips, the poet asks, will it cross the mountain road of Tamuke today, the last day of autumn? He personifies departing autumn as a traveler crossing the mountain, offering the brocade of autumn leaves as offering strips.
The author, "Senzai Shōnin," was a monk of Ungoji. Known for building a great Amida Buddha image at Ungoji, he associated with poets, holding poetry contests at his sutra dedications.
"Kugatsujin," the end of the ninth month, is the last day of the ninth lunar month, the final day of autumn. The next poem, 384, also sings of the last day of the ninth month at the same contest. 372 of this book likewise sang of Tamuke Mountain as the mountain where autumn leaves scatter like offering strips.

First line, "karanishiki": brocade from China, meaning a beautiful brocade, likening the autumn leaves to it.
Second line, "nusa ni tachimote": "tatsu" is a pivot word meaning both to cut cloth and to set out on a journey. "Nusa" are offerings to the gods, here the brocade of leaves cut into offering strips and carried along.
Third line, "yuku aki mo": "autumn, too, as it departs," personifying autumn as a traveler.
Fourth line, "kyō ya Tamuke no": "kyō" is today, the last day of the ninth month. The interrogative "ya" closes with the attributive "ran" in the last line. "Tamuke" is the mountain where travelers offer strips to the gods of the road. 372 of this book also sings of Tamuke Mountain.
Fifth line, "yamaji koyuran": "ran" is the present conjecture, "will it cross the mountain road?", imagining autumn's journey.
Author: Senzai
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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