The Dark Side of the Net

There is a darkness inside us. This site is a doorway to the dark... if what you find passing through here disturbs you, there is no need to return. If you can resist...

Sacred Texts Japan Index Previous Next

p. 5

5 SARU MARU, A SHINTO OFFICIAL

SARU MARU TAIU

Oku yama ni
Momiji fumi wake
Naku shika no
Koe kiku toki zo
Aki wa kanashiki.

HEAR the stag's pathetic call
  Far up the mountain side,
While tramping o'er the maple leaves
  Wind-scattered far and wide
  This sad, sad autumn tide.

Very little is known of this writer, but he probably lived not later than A.D. 800. Stags and the crimson leaves of the maple are frequently used symbolically of autumn.

Next: 6. The Imperial Adviser Yakamochi: Chū-nagon Yakamochi