夕されば何か急がむ紅葉葉の
下照る山は夜も越えなむ
下照る山は夜も越えなむ
- Roma-ji
-
Yū sareba nani ka isogamu momijiba no shitateru yama wa yoru mo koenamu
- English Translation
-
When evening comes,
why should I be in a hurry?
Where crimson leaves
light the mountain from below,
I can cross it even at night
- Meaning
- Why hurry just because evening has come? The mountain glows so bright beneath its crimson leaves that I could cross it even in the dark.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 132
Headnote: "Composed for the poetry contest of the Grand Empress Dowager in the first year of Kanji"
Ōe no Masafusa composed this for the poetry contest of the Grand Empress Dowager in Kanji 1 (1087).
There is no need to hurry at nightfall, for the red leaves light the mountain down to its foot, so one could cross it even at night. It exaggerates the brilliance of the leaves into a light that brightens even the dark, a delightful conceit of radiance.
The first line, "yū sareba," means "when evening comes."
The second line, "nani ka isogamu," is rhetorical: "why hurry? There is no need." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "momijiba no," means "of the crimson leaves."
The fourth line, "shitateru yama wa," means "the mountain glowing beneath" with the color of the leaves.
The last line, "yoru mo koenamu," conjectures "I could cross even at night," closing with an exaggeration of the leaves' brightness.
- Author
- Oe no Masafusa
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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