One Hundred Leaves: A new annotated translation of the Hyakunin Isshu

by Blue Flute

On a mountain slope The copper pheasant’s tail Just flows and flows— So long, like this night If I’m to sleep alone

When looking at the moon A thousand things Become sadness— My autumn alone Though it is not.

More desolate than winter, The lonely mountain hamlet: Thinking of The people, the grass— All have withered and died.

My heart’s hit by anticipation— The first frost Has placed a veil of confusion Over the white chrysanthemum And if I pluck it, it will be by chance.

Cold dawn, A waning moon With no companion— Since our parting, nothing is so loveless As the break of day.

In a mountain stream The wind has laid A river dam, Blocking the flow With autumn maple leaves

Eternal moon And fading light— This spring day, A restless heart And scattered blossoms

The vines and weeds Entangle this cottage Alone And no one saw The coming autumn

Rocks engulfed And wracked by waves Then smashed to pieces— An aching wind, A time recalled.

Soon, we will not be In this world together And all will be a memory: Now, for just a moment, How I wish to meet.

I am the rustling stalks, So how could I forget you?

Together In pity and sorrow, My mountain cherry— Besides your flowers There is no one.

Loneliness— I leave my hut And gaze around; But everywhere’s the same In autumn twilight

Coming out From ocean plains The sky and clouds appear— But I wonder... the distant sea... A sky of waves in frothy white

Shining moonlight Seeps through Rifts of clouds— Its shadow lingering In autumn wind

Society’s midst A tearful path, Desiring retreat To mountain depths— But there too, a deer cries.

Autumn’s evening is a seasonal poetic symbol of loneliness and dreariness and rain drops are symbolic of tear drops. Maki is a plum pine but is also used for pines in general. "Maki" can also be read as "scatter" or "sprinkle" so you can read the third line as the pine’s needles are scattered while the fog rises up through the trees.

A string of pearls— If life dies out, die now; If I live long Concealing my feelings, I weaken so.

My sleeve A rock from open sea, Unseen though tide is low— For he is one that does not know There is no time for it to dry.

“Ukiyo” is the “floating world” or the merry, pleasure-seeking urban life, but also has the connotation of being empty, seeking pleasures in a fleeting and transient life. Here, “uki” is written in the hiragana alphabet rather than in the kanji ideagram, leaving it open to other meanings, including scandal, bad reputation, and rainy season. “Black sleeves” denotes the black garb of priests. He is referring to turning away from the meaningless, pleasure-seeking world of society and his former life and going on a more spiritual path.