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Japanese
English
Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
在原業平朝臣
ちはやぶる
神代もきかず
竜田川
から紅に
水くくるとは
からくれな
ゐにみつく
くるとは
ちは
- Poem 17
- ちはやぶる
神代もきかず
竜田川
から紅に 水くくるとは
Author: Ariwara no Narihira Ason (825–880)
Source: Kokin Wakashū, Autumn
- English Verse Translation
- All red with leaves Tatsuta's stream So softly purls along, The everlasting Gods themselves,
Who judge 'twixt right and wrong, Ne'er heard so sweet a song.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- Even the ancient gods never heard of this — the Tatsuta River, dyeing its waters a deep crimson with fallen maple leaves.
- Commentary
- The Kokin Wakashū's headnote reads, "Composed on the theme of a folding screen painted with maple leaves flowing down the Tatsuta River, at the request of the Nijō Consort when she was Consort to the Crown Prince." Invited by Fujiwara no Takaiko, Ariwara no Narihira composed this screen poem on the painted scene of autumn leaves flowing down the Tatsuta River. The two had once been lovers, but Takaiko had since become a consort of Emperor Seiwa, placing her far above him in status. It is thought that Narihira poured into this poem feelings of love he could no longer express directly.
- About the Poet
- Ariwara no Narihira was a son of Prince Abo, himself a son of Emperor Heizei, but was removed from the imperial family and made a subject. Free-spirited and gifted at poetry, he is considered the model for the protagonist of The Tales of Ise.
- Ariwara no Narihira Ason's Chart of the Heart
-
A chart and a modern-language reflection of the poet's inner feelings.
The Poet's Feelings (A Personal Interpretation)
The river buried in crimson leaves overflows —
just like my feelings for you.I want to tell you, but I can't find the words
to make this wild love last forever.
- Poem Illustration
-
This image is based on an illustration from William N. Porter's A Hundred Verses from Old Japan, his 1909 English translation of the Hyakunin Isshu published in England, colorized and reworked using Adobe Firefly (generative AI).