百舌のゐる櫨の立ち枝の薄紅葉
誰が我が宿の物と見るらむ
誰が我が宿の物と見るらむ
- Roma-ji
-
Mozu no iru haji no tachie no usumomiji tare waga yado no mono to miruramu
- English Translation
-
Where the shrike is perched
on the tall branch of the sumac
faintly turning red,
who is it, I wonder, sees
those leaves as his own garden's
- Meaning
- The faintly reddening leaves on the tall branch of the sumac where a shrike perches: who, I wonder, looks on them as belonging to his own garden?
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 243
The faintly reddening leaves on the tall sumac branch where a shrike perches can be seen from many houses, so the poet wonders who gazes on them as part of his own garden. The poem depicts how everyone cherishes the first-turning leaves as their own.
With this poem the sequence on autumn leaves begins, opening with leaves just faintly colored.
From poem 243 through poem 253 in this book come poems on autumn leaves, from trees just beginning to turn to leaves scattering until they fill rivers and waterfalls.
The author, Nakazane, is Fujiwara no Nakazane. A son of Fujiwara no Yoshinari, he served in posts such as Assistant Master of the Empress's Household. He was one of the poets of the Horikawa Hundred-Poem Sequences.
First line, 'mozu no iru', means where the shrike perches, pairing in an autumn bird.
Second line, 'haji no tachie no', uses haji, a sumac that turns brilliant in autumn, and tachie, a tall branch.
Third line, 'usumomiji', is leaves faintly tinged, the early stage of autumn color.
Fourth line, 'tare waga yado no', means who, as of his own house.
Final line, 'mono to miruramu', means sees as his own, ramu being the auxiliary of present conjecture.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Nakazane
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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