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Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
文屋朝康
白露に
風の吹きしく
秋の野は
つらぬきとめぬ
玉ぞ散りける
つらぬきと
めぬたまそ
ちりける
しら
- Poem 37
- 白露に
風の吹きしく
秋の野は
つらぬきとめぬ 玉ぞ散りける
Author: Fun'ya no Asayasu (dates unknown)
Source: Gosen Wakashū, Autumn
- English Verse Translation
- This lovely morn the dewdrops flash Like diamonds on the grass— A blaze of sparkling jewels! But
The autumn wind, alas! Scatters them as I pass.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- In the autumn fields lashed by the wind and dew, the scattered drops look like beads of jade that cannot be strung together.
- Commentary
- The Gosen Wakashū's headnote states, "Composed when summoned to present a poem during the Engi era," which, if accurate, would place the poem during the reign of Emperor Daigo. In fact, however, this poem already appears in the record of a poetry contest held at the Empress's palace during the Kanpyō era, suggesting it was likely composed even before the Kokin Wakashū was compiled — during the reign of Emperor Uda, before Daigo took the throne. For this reason, the contemporary poetry-contest record is considered more reliable than the later Gosen Wakashū headnote.
- About the Poet
- Fun'ya no Asayasu was the son of Fun'ya no Yasuhide (Poem 22). He never rose to high rank in his lifetime, but he was well known as a poet.
- Fun'ya no Asayasu'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)
Every time the wind blows,
the white dew glitters across the autumn fields.Like scattered pearls —
I found myself lost in the sight for a while.
- 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).