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.

--

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.

272

花見にといでにしものを秋の野の霧に迷ひてけふはくらしつ

hanami ni to              Although I went out
ide-ni-si mono wo         Thinking to view the flowers,
aki no no no              In the autumn field
kiri ni madohi-te         I've gotten lost in the mist
kehu ha kurasi-tu         And wasted the whole day through.

--

The second of Tsurayuki's poems introduces the general idea of autumn flowers. Specific flowers will soon begin to show up in the poems; a few of the flowering plants appeared in the first volume but the flowers in particular were not mentioned.

Kigin praised these two poems as skilled and elegant, and a perfect example of Tsurayuki's poetry. Kifune praised the evocation of a dream/fantasy world; the poet wandering lost in the mist, imagining the beautiful flowers he came out to see.

A similar poem appears in the Kokin waka rokujo:

音に聞く花見にくれば秋霧の道さまたげに立ち渡りつつ

I came to see the flowers I heard rumor of, and mist kept rising up to block the path.

Katagiri draws attention to another poem by Tsurayuki, KKS 116:

春の野に若菜つまむと来しものをちりかふ花に道はまどひぬ

I went to the spring fields to pick young shoots, but the scattering cherry blossoms made me lose my way.

273

寛平御時后宮の歌合せに

Read at the Empress' Poetry Competition in the Kampyo era

よみ人しらず

Poet unknown

浦ちかくたつ秋きりはもしほやく煙とのみぞ見えわたりける

ura tikaku                The mist of autumn
tatu akikiri ha           Rising down there near the bay:
mosiho yaku               As smoke that rises
keburi to nomi zo         From seaweed burned for its salt
mie-watari-keru           That is all I see it as.

--

The public group of poems continue, this time with a poem from a competition. Although the author is not listed here, it's found in the Okikaze Collection with a slightly different final line (ayamatarikeru, "I mistake it for..."). The image is fairly clear; the smoke from burning seaweed is often found in love poetry to show the smoldering of the poet's heart. A similar poem to this appears in the Nakatsukasa collection but with spring haze instead of autumn mist. SIS 1096 is also similar, written for a screen painting:

藻塩焼く煙に馴るる須磨の海人は秋立つ霧も分かずやあるらん

I wonder if the saltmakers at Suma, so used to the smoke from the burning seaweed, can tell it apart from autumn mist?