Utsurowanu tokiwa no yama mo momiji seba isa kashi yukite nodonodo to mimu - Izumi Shikibu Nikki(English Translation & Meaning)

移はぬ常盤の山も紅葉せは
いさかしゆきてのと〳〵とみむ

Roma-ji: Utsurowanu tokiwa no yama mo momiji seba isa kashi yukite nodonodo to mimu
English Translation: If even the hills
of evergreen that never change
should turn to crimson,
then indeed, come, let us go
and view them at our ease
Meaning: If even the evergreen mountains, which never change, should turn crimson, then by all means let us go and view them at our leisure.
Commentary: 32 The Promise to View Autumn Leaves

On the evening of their exchange on the frosty morning, the prince came and invited her: "How lovely the autumn leaves on the mountains must be now. Come, let us go and see them," and Izumi Shikibu replied, "That would be delightful." But when the day came, the prince sent word: "Today I must stay shut in for a day of abstinence, which is a great pity. Once it is over, without fail." That night the winter showers fell harder than usual, with a sound as though every leaf on the trees would be stripped away. Waking, Izumi Shikibu murmured to herself, "before the wind," and spent the rest of the night regretting that the leaves must all have fallen and wishing they had gone to see them the day before.
The woman is Izumi Shikibu, daughter of Ōe no Masamune and, as the wife of Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi, mother of Koshikibu no Naishi. The Prince of the Dazaifu is Prince Atsumichi, fourth son of Emperor Reizei, so called because he served as Governor-General of the Dazaifu. A day of abstinence was a period of staying shut indoors and keeping oneself pure in order to avoid misfortune, according to the art of yin and yang.
When the prince's "Arashi to wa omou mono kara momijiba no chiri ya nokoreru isa tazune min" arrived, inviting her to go and look for any leaves still left, Izumi Shikibu sent back this poem.
After the poem she added, "It would be a foolish errand." Then, remembering that when the prince had come the other day she had been unable to receive him because of some hindrance, she sent "Takasebune haya kogiide yo sawaru koto sashikaerinishi ashima waketari."

The opening lines mean "even the evergreen mountains that never change," the evergreen being what stays forever unchanged, that is, mountains thick with trees that never lose their green. The third line poses the condition "if they should turn crimson."
The lower verses mean "then come, let us go and look at our ease," with an inviting word sharpened by a particle of emphasis, a word for leisurely calm, and an auxiliary of will. Taking up his "come, let us go and see," she raises the impossible notion of evergreen mountains turning crimson, gently and humorously declining: to go looking for leaves already fallen would be pointless.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Izumi Shikibu Nikki
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