Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
みよし野の
Asukai Masatsune · 参議雅経
みよし野の
山の秋風
小夜更けて
故郷寒く
衣うつなり
Historical kana
みよしのの
やまのあきかぜ
さよふけて
ふるさとさむく
ころもうつなり
Original English translation
In fair Yoshino the mountain autumn wind blows as night deepens; in the old village, cold, they beat cloth.
History and context
Masatsune was a court poet associated with the Asukai family. Cloth-beating was part of preparing fabric; in autumn poetry its sound often carried through the night.
Imagery and wordplay
Wind, cold and rhythmic labour create the scene through hearing as well as sight. The old village feels distant and inhabited.
Shinkokinshū · 新古今集秋下483
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.