Kaze fukeba nara no uraba no soyosoyo to iiawasetsutsu izuchi chiruramu - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

風吹けばならの裏葉のそよそよと
言ひ合はせつついづち散るらむ

Roma-ji: Kaze fukeba nara no uraba no soyosoyo to iiawasetsutsu izuchi chiruramu
English Translation: When the wind blows,
the undersides of oak leaves
rustling, “Yes, yes,”
keep on agreeing with each other—
where will they scatter, I wonder?
Meaning: When the wind blows, the oak leaves rustle on their undersides, “so it is, so it is,” as if agreeing among themselves; where, I wonder, are they all scattering to?
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 146

Headnote: "Composed on the topic “Fallen Leaves Have Voices.”"
The topic gives voices to falling leaves. The rustle of oak leaves in the wind, “soyosoyo,” is heard as “so it is, so it is,” as though the leaves were conferring, and the poet playfully wonders where they have agreed to scatter. The author is said to be Koremune no Takayori.
Texts such as the Shōhō printed edition read the second line as “nara no kareha no,” “the withered oak leaves.”

First line, “kaze fukeba”: realis with “ba,” “when the wind blows.”
Second line, “nara no uraba no”: the undersides of oak leaves flipping in the wind. The oak recurs in 150, “nara no kokage.”
Third line, “soyosoyo to”: the sound of rustling leaves overlaid with “soyo,” “so it is,” a pivot word that begins the personification.
Fourth line, “iiawasetsutsu”: “tsutsu” marks repetition, “agreeing among themselves,” treating the leaves as people.
Fifth line, “izuchi chiruramu”: “izuchi,” “in which direction,” with the present conjecture “ramu,” imagining where they will go.
Source: Shika Wakashu
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