Hyakunin Isshu: Meet the Poets
Junior Second Rank Ietaka

Meaning

The breeze rustles through the leaves of the sacred oak trees by the river at dusk. The purification rite is the only sign that summer is here.

Commentary

The scene is the eve of the Kamo purification ceremony (misogi) at a stream near the Kamo Shrine. The air is already cool enough to feel like autumn; only the ritual marks it as summer. "Soyo-gu" (to rustle gently) gives the breeze through the Nara oaks a light, delicate sound. The poem balances on the exact threshold between seasons.

Fujiwara no Ietaka was a close colleague of Teika (poem 97) and co-led the waka world of the Shin Kokinshū era. He was known for his lyrical grace and emotional subtlety. This poem, suspended between summer and autumn, is considered one of the most elegant seasonal poems in the entire anthology.

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