暮れてゆく秋の湊に浮かぶ木の葉
海人の釣りする舟かとも見ゆ
海人の釣りする舟かとも見ゆ
- Roma-ji
-
Kurete yuku aki no minato ni ukabu konoha ama no tsuri suru fune ka to mo miyu
- English Translation
-
In the harbor where
autumn draws now to its close,
the floating leaves
might be taken for the boats
of fishers out to fish.
- Meaning
- The leaves floating in the harbor where autumn ends its course look like the boats of fishers out fishing.
- Commentary
-
Autumn Poems 296
Headnote: "Fallen leaves on the water"
The poet likens the leaves floating in the harbor where departing autumn comes to rest to the small boats of fishers at their fishing. Through the conceit of drifting leaves as boats, he portrays the lingering traces of passing autumn.
"Autumn's harbor," likening autumn's final end to a harbor, appears in Ki no Tsurayuki's Kokin Wakashū poem wondering whether the river mouth, where the Tatsuta carries autumn leaves each year, is where autumn comes to anchor. In the source text consulted, characters at the end of line 3 are missing and have been supplied from the Teika text's ukabu konoha.
Line 1 means "coming to its end," showing autumn about to pass.
Line 2 means "in the harbor of autumn," likening autumn's end to a harbor.
Line 3, "the floating leaves," is hypermetric, referring to fallen leaves on the water, and the poem pauses here.
Line 4 means "fishers fishing."
Line 5 means "they look like boats," likening the leaves to small boats. Against the leaves coloring on the branches in the preceding poem, 295, this one sings of leaves fallen and floating, pairing the tree and the water.
- Author
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Source
- Kinkaishu
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