Not even in the age of the gods was such a thing heard of — the Tatsuta River scattering autumn leaves and tie-dyeing its waters a brilliant crimson.
The early Heian period, when aristocratic culture was in full flower. Ariwara no Narihira, one of the Six Poetic Immortals, was a poet famed for his good looks and is said to be the model for the hero of The Tales of Ise. This poem, singing of the spectacular sight of the Tatsuta River buried in crimson leaves, is regarded as the very summit of Japan's autumn-leaf poetry.
"Even in the distant age of the gods, when the deities walked the earth, such a thing was never heard of: the Tatsuta River tie-dyeing its waters in Chinese crimson with autumn leaves." To praise the spectacle before his eyes he reaches all the way back to the age of myth, a bold hyperbole. Capturing the beauty of nature in the raw state of astonishment, it is the pinnacle of the splendor of court waka.
We transposed the wonder of "never heard of even in the age of the gods," a sight even the gods did not know, onto the "breathtaking moments" we stumble upon in everyday life today. In the instant you stop before a view you had been passing by in the rush of busy days, the world turns out to be this vivid. The song is about the pure wonder of a beauty that words cannot catch up with, and the wish to keep a fleeting moment forever.
川面を流れる 無数のもみじ
一片ずつが 燃えるような赤で
水を染めてゆく ゆっくりと
息をするのも 忘れていた
神々が見ていた 遥かな時代も
こんな景色を 知らなかったはず
今 目の前で 奇跡が起きている
ちはやぶる 神代も聞かず
からくれなゐいに 水を染め上げて
竜田川は今 誰のものでもない
ただ美しい ただそれだけで
言葉なんて 追いつかないよ
こんなにも世界は 鮮やかだった
ふと立ち止まる その瞬間に
世界はこんなにも 彩られてた
気づかないまま 通り過ぎてた
たくさんの赤を たくさんの今を
神々が見ていた 遥かな時代も
こんな景色を 知らなかったはず
今 この瞬間が 永久になる
ちはやぶる 神代も聞かず
からくれなゐいに 水を染め上げて
竜田川は今 誰のものでもない
ただ美しい ただそれだけで
言葉なんて 追いつかないよ
こんなにも世界は 鮮やかだった
ちはやぶる
神代も聞かず 竜田川
からくれなゐいに 水くくるとは
ちはやぶる 神代も聞かず
からくれなゐに 水を染め上げて
この景色を 誰かに伝えたい
ただ美しい ただそれだけを
言葉にすれば こぼれてしまう
それでも残したい この赤を
こんなにも世界は 鮮やかだから
Countless maple leaves drifting on the river's face
each single leaf a burning shade of red
slowly dyeing the water as they go
I had even forgotten to breathe
Even in the distant age the gods watched over
surely no one had ever seen a sight like this
now, before my very eyes, a miracle unfolds
Even in the mighty age of gods, unheard of —
dyeing the water in deep crimson
the Tatsuta River now belongs to no one
simply beautiful — and that alone is enough
words could never catch up to all of this
the world was this vivid all along
In the moment I happen to stop and stand still
the world had been this richly colored
and I had passed it by, never noticing
so much red, so many fleeting moments of now
Even in the distant age the gods watched over
surely no one had ever seen a sight like this
now, this very moment turns to forever
Even in the mighty age of gods, unheard of —
dyeing the water in deep crimson
the Tatsuta River now belongs to no one
simply beautiful — and that alone is enough
words could never catch up to all of this
the world was this vivid all along
In the mighty age of the gods —
never heard of even then: the Tatsuta River
dyes its waters in deep crimson ripples
Even in the mighty age of gods, unheard of —
dyeing the water in deep crimson
I want to tell someone of this sight
simply beautiful — only that, nothing more
put it into words, and it spills away
and still I want to keep it — this red
because the world is this vivid