Hyakunin Isshu: Meet the Poets
Harumichi no Tsuraki

Meaning

The weir of fallen maple leaves, caught by the mountain wind across the stream — the water cannot flow through.

Commentary

The scene is entirely visual: wind has blown so many fallen leaves across a mountain stream that they have accumulated like a woven weir, blocking the current. The word "shigarami" traditionally referred to artificial structures — wicker barriers placed to catch fish — but here nature has built its own. There is no human metaphor, no emotional overlay: only the precise image of what the poet observed.

Harumichi no Tsuraki appears only briefly in historical records, but this single poem has ensured his place in the tradition. It is remarkable for its restraint: unlike many Hyakunin Isshu poems that use landscape as a vehicle for love or longing, this one simply shows what the poet saw, and trusts that the image is enough.

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