Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
吹くからに
Fun’ya no Yasuhide · 文屋康秀
吹くからに
秋の草木の
しをるれば
むべ山風を
あらしといふらむ
Historical kana
ふくからに
あきのくさきの
しをるれば
むべやまかぜを
あらしといふらむ
Original English translation
At its first breath the autumn grasses and trees wither; no wonder the mountain wind is called a storm.
History and context
Yasuhide is counted among the Six Poetic Immortals. This Kokinshū autumn poem makes a witty observation about language as well as a scene of seasonal destruction.
Imagery and wordplay
Arashi means storm; its written character 嵐 combines mountain 山 and wind 風. The poem plays with that association.
Kokinshū · 古今集秋下249
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.