Front
Back
Japanese
English
Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
寂蓮法師
村雨の
露もまだひぬ
まきの葉に
霧たちのぼる
秋の夕暮
きりたちの
ほるあきの
ゆふくれ
む
- Poem 87
- 村雨の
露もまだひぬ
まきの葉に
霧たちのぼる 秋の夕暮
Author: Priest Jakuren (c. 1139–1202)
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashū, Autumn
- English Verse Translation
- The rain, which fell from passing showers, Like drops of dew, still lies Upon the fir-tree
needles, and The mists of evening rise Up to the autumn skies.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- After the passing shower, the mist rises slowly through the rain-drenched leaves of the cedar. An autumn evening.
- Commentary
- This poem was composed for the "Fifty-Poem Contest of Young and Old," hosted by Retired Emperor Go-Toba. Though it is a descriptive autumn poem, it contains none of the usual colors of autumn foliage — instead, by featuring the evergreen "maki" (cedar or cypress), it was praised for conveying a stillness reminiscent of an ink-wash painting. "Murasame," meaning a sudden shower, comes from the idea of rain falling "in clusters."
- About the Poet
- Priest Jakuren was the adopted son of Fujiwara no Shunzei (Poem 83), but is said to have taken Buddhist vows and trained on Mount Kōya so that Shunzei's own son, Fujiwara no Teika, could inherit the family headship instead. He later traveled the provinces as a wandering monk before settling in Saga. His poetic talent recognized by Retired Emperor Go-Toba, he was appointed, alongside Teika, as a compiler of the Shin Kokin Wakashū — but he died the following year.
- Priest Jakuren'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 passing shower has gone,
leaving only stillness in the forest.Watching the mist rise from the rain-soaked trees,
I let myself sink into the depth of an autumn evening.
- 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).