もみぢばのながるるあきはかはごとににしきあらふとひとはみるらん[1]
| momijiba no nagaruru aki wa kawa goto ni nishiki arau to hito wa miruramu | The scarlet leaves Flow and in autumn By every river Washing their brocade Folk can be seen! |
ひしくればよるもめかれじきくのはなあきすぎぬればあふべきものか
| hi shi kureba yoru mo mekareji kiku no hana aki suginureba aubeki mono ka | When the day is here, At night you do escape my sight, O, chrysanthemums; When autumn has passed by, I wonder shall we meet again? |
70
あきのむしなどわびしげにこゑのするたのめしかげに露やもりくる
| aki no mushi nado wabishige ni koe no suru tanomeshi kage ni tsuyu ya morikuru | Why do the autumn insects And more let out plaintive Cries; Is your trustworthy face Drenched in dew? |
67
もみぢばのながれてゆけば山がはのあさきせだにもあきはふかみぬ
| momijiba no nagareteyukeba yamagawa no asaki se dani mo aki wa fukaminu | The scarlet leaves Have come flowing, so The mountain stream’s Shallow rapids—even they Are deep in autumn! |
68
あきくともみどりのかへであらませばちらずぞあらましもみぢならねど
| aki ku tomo midori no kaede aramaseba chirazu zo aramashi momiji naranedo | Autumn comes, yet The maples in green Do display themselves, so I would you not scatter, For your leaves have not turned scarlet… |
65
しづはたにこひはすれどもこぬ人をまつむしのねぞあきはかなしき
| shizu wa ta ni koi wa suredomo konu hito o matsumushi no ne zo aki wa kanashiki | Peasants in the rice-fields Do fall in love, yet For a man who fails to come, I Pine crickets cries make Autumn all the more sad. |
66
ゆめののちむなしきとこはあらじかしあきののなかもこひしかりけり
| yume no nochi munashiki toko wa araji kashi aki no no naka mo koishikarikeri | After a dream of you The emptiness of my bed I feel not, I think, for Amid the autumn meadows I do love you still. |
63
もみぢばのたまれるかりのなみだにはあきの月こそかげやどしけれ
| momijiba no tamareru kari no namida ni wa aki no tsuki koso kage yadoshikere | The scarlet leaves Clog the goose Tears, where It I the autumn moon’s Light finds lodging. |
64
あきかぜになみやたつらんあまのがはすぐるまもなくつきのながるる
| akikaze ni nami ya tatsuramu ama no kawa sukuru ma mo naku tsuki no nagaruru | Might it be the autumn wind that Has raised the waves upon The River of Heaven? There’s no space to pass for The moon, flowing by… |
61
つき見ればちぢにものこそかなしけれ我がみひとつのあきにはあらねど
| tsuki mireba chiji ni mono koso kanashikere wa ga mi hitotsu no aki ni wa aranedo | When I gaze upon the moon So many are my sources of Sadness; Though, it is not I, alone, who Is faced with autumn… |
62
あきはぎのえだもとををになりゆくはしら露おもくおけばなりけり[1]
| akihagi no eda mo towowo ni nariyuku wa shiratsuyu omoku okeba narikeri | The autumn bush clover’s Branches bend down More and more; When silver dewdrops weight Does fall upon them. |
ひとりしもあきにはあはなくによのなかのかなしきことをもてなやむらん
| hitori shimo aki ni wa awanaku ni yo no naka no kanashiki koto o motenayamuran | Alone in Autumn, without a meeting, This mundane world’s Sorrows Pain me all the more. |
60
[1] This poem was included in Gosenshū (VI: 304).
いりひさす山とぞ見ゆるもみぢばのあきのことごとてらすなりけり
| irihi sasu yama to zo miyuru momijiba no aki no kotogoto terasu narikeri | The setting sun shines On the mountains, and it seems The scarlet leaves All of autumn Do illuminate. |
57
ひさかたのつきのかつらもあきはなほもみぢすればやてりまさるらん[1]
| hisakata no tsuki no katsura mo aki wa nao momiji sureba ya terimasaruran | On the eternal Moon the silver trees too In Autumn Change their hues; Is that why you shine so bright? |
58
[1] This poem was included in Kokinshū (IV: 194), where it is attributed to Mibu no Tadamine.
あきのよの月のひかりはきよけれどひとのこころのくまはてらさず[1]
| aki no yo no tsuki no hikari wa kiyokeredo hito no kokoro no kuma wa terasazu | On an autumn night The moon’s light is So clear, yet upon Her heart’s Depths it fails to shine. |
55
ゆふだすきかけてのみこそこひしけれあきとしなればひと
| yūdasuki kakete no koso koishikere aki to shi nareba hito | Cords of mulberry cloth Hung, are all the more Dear; When the autumn comes, She… |
56
The final words of this poem have not survived, so we need to use our imaginations to think of how it might have concluded.
あきのよにかりとなくねをきくときは我がみのうへと思ひこそすれ
| aki no yo ni kari to naku ne o kiku toki wa wa ga mi no ue to omoi koso sure | On an autumn night, When the geese a’crying I do hear, Upon me My sad thoughts weigh all the more… |
53
いまよりはいざまつかげにたちよらむ秋のもみぢはかぜさそひけり
| ima yori wa iza matsu kage ni tachiyoramu aki no momiji wa kaze sasoikeri | From now it is, that Long-awaited shade Does seem to rise; The autumn’s scarlet leaves, Beckon in the breeze. |
54