Gosenshu 6
Gosen wakashu Volume 6: Autumn 2 後撰和歌集巻第六 秋中
271
延喜御時に秋の歌めしければ、たてまつりける
In the Engi period, [the Emperor] asked for an autumn poem, and [Tsurayuki] provided these.
紀貫之
Ki no Tsurayuki
秋霧の立ちぬる時はくらぶ山おぼつかなくぞ見え渡りける
akigiri no When the autumn mist tati-nuru toki ha Has risen up to enwrap kurabuyama Kurabu Mountain, obotukanaku zo Looking across the whole place mie-watari-keru It is difficult to see.
- Autumn mist
- There's no clear indication whether this should be akigiri or akikiri; I've gone with the majority, but Takeoka reads it akikiri on the basis of other compounds like harukasumi that are unvoiced.
- Kurabu Mountain
- A mountain in old Yamashiro province; used in poetry for its association with kurasi (dark), and thus hard to see or navigate.
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The second volume of autumn poems begins with two public poems by Tsurayuki in response to Imperial request, which introduce two major autumn themes. The first one is autumn mist, a major theme in KKS autumn poetry as well. The difference between the spring kasumi and autumn kiri is difficult to represent in English translation; there's a tradition of translating kasumi as "haze" and kiri as "mist".
This poem is a fairly simple evocation of the scene of a mountain wrapped in mist, with the pun on the mountain's name.