Omou ni mo sugite aware ni kikoyuru wa ogi no ha midaru aki no yūkaze

思ふにも過ぎてあはれに聞こゆるは
荻の葉乱る秋の夕風

Roma-ji: Omou ni mo sugite aware ni kikoyuru wa ogi no ha midaru aki no yūkaze
English Translation: Beyond all I thought,
moving deeply as it sounds,
what I hear is this:
tossing leaves of the reed grass,
the evening wind of autumn.
Meaning: What sounds more moving than I ever imagined is the autumn evening wind, tossing the leaves of the reed grass.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 285

Headnote: "Reed grass"
This poem was composed on the topic of ogi, a reed grass, and a series of poems on it begins here. What sounds more deeply moving than the poet had imagined is the autumn evening wind tossing the leaves of the reed grass. The rustle of its leaves was often sung in waka as the herald of autumn, and this poem dwells on the deep feeling of that sound.
The closing aki no yūkaze is the same as the last line of 288, so the reed grass series opens and closes with poems on the autumn evening wind that sets its leaves rustling.

First line, “omou ni mo”: than I had thought, leading into sugite in the second line.
Second line, “sugite aware ni”: more deeply moving than expected, expressing a feeling beyond anticipation.
Third line, “kikoyuru wa”: what comes to my ears, singled out by wa, with its identity revealed in the last line.
Fourth line, “ogi no ha midaru”: the wind tossing the leaves of the reed grass, suggesting the sound of their rustling.
Fifth line, “aki no yūkaze”: ending on a noun, revealing the source of the sound that pierces the heart.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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