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Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
天智天皇
秋の田の
かりほの庵の
苫をあらみ
我が衣手は
露にぬれつつ
わかころも
てはつゆに
ぬれつつ
あきの
- Poem 1
- 秋の田の
かりほの庵の
苫をあらみ
我が衣手は 露にぬれつつ
Author: Emperor Tenji (626–671)
Source: Gosen Wakashū, Autumn
- English Verse Translation
- Out in the fields this autumn day. They're busy reaping grain; I sought for shelter
'neath this roof, But fear I sought in vain,— My sleeve is wet with rain.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- By the rice fields, in a makeshift hut with a loosely woven roof, my sleeves are wet with the night dew.
- Commentary
- At harvest time, farmers would build makeshift huts near their rice fields and keep watch through the night to protect the crop from animals. It's hard to picture an emperor actually spending the night in such a hut with dew-soaked sleeves. For this reason, it is thought that an anonymous poem from the Man'yōshū was later passed down as a poem by Emperor Tenji — one that reflects his compassion for the common people.
- About the Poet
- Emperor Tenji drove the Taika Reforms, shifting power away from clan-based rule toward a government centered on the emperor. By laying the groundwork for a centralized state, he helped build the foundations of the Heian era and was deeply revered by the people of that time. He was also a direct ancestor of Emperor Kanmu, who founded the capital of Heian-kyō.
- Emperor Tenji'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)
By the rice fields,
I keep watch in a rough little hut.Even this cold night dew
is more beautiful than the shining court.
- 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).