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Hyakunin Isshu No. 24 · Sugawara no MichizaneKono Tabi wa

“An Offering of Autumn Leaves” — Sugawara no MichizaneSource: Kokinshū, Travel · 420
このたびは 幣も取りあへず 手向山
紅葉の錦 神のまにまに
Kono tabi wa nusa mo toriaezu Tamukeyama
momiji no nishiki kami no manimani
On this journey I carry no streamers of offering — Mount Tamuke,
accept instead this brocade of autumn leaves, as the gods see fit.
Hyakunin IsshuKokin WakashūTravelAutumnAdmirationMt. Tamuke (Nara)
Kono Tabi wa jacket art▶

What the poem says

This journey came so suddenly that I could prepare no offerings. Accept instead this brocade of autumn leaves on Mount Tamuke, O gods, as your hearts see fit.

Music Video

ミュージックビデオ

The Story

歌のものがたり

Historical Background

Early Heian period. Sugawara no Michizane, who rose from a family of scholars all the way to Minister of the Right, composed this on a journey accompanying the retired Emperor Uda's gyōkō (an imperial excursion). The trip was so sudden that he had not been able to prepare the nusa — the offerings presented to the gods. Michizane was later demoted to Dazaifu through the slander of the Fujiwara clan, and after his death he came to be enshrined as "Tenjin-sama," the god of learning.

The Poet's Heart

The quick-witted comeback that turns the blunder of having forgotten his offerings into "the brocade of autumn leaves on Mount Tamuke is the finest offering of all." Improvised wisdom and humor: if you offer your very best with whatever is at hand, the gods will accept it.

What We Put into the Lyrics

We laid Michizane's resourcefulness — offering autumn leaves when he had no nusa to present — over the "morning of the big day," when you leave the house without your preparations being perfect. What we want you to remember is that the very Tenjin-sama you pray to is the same man who, a thousand years ago, got through it with "whatever was at hand." "It's beautiful because it isn't perfect" — if it's your very best, that is the finest offering there is. This is a cheer song for everyone who takes on the challenge with whatever they have.

Lyrics

歌詞
Japanese

このたびは（菅原道真・百人一首24番）／Garu JP

Verse 1

目覚ましの前に 目が覚めた朝

かばんの中身を 三度確かめて

覚えたはずの ページをもう一度

めくる指先 うまく動かない

Pre-Chorus 1

完璧な準備なんて どうせ間に合わない

だったら持ってるもの 全部持っていく

Chorus 1

このたびは 取るものも取りあえず

ありったけの勇気を かばんに詰めて

息を吸って 飛び込むだけ

あとは まにまに まにまに

神のまにまに

なるようになるさと 手を合わせた

Verse 2

千年前にも 慌てた人がいた

急な旅立ちに 捧げものも無くて

真っ赤に燃える 山の紅葉を

「これでどうか」と 神に差し出した

Pre-Chorus 2

それでも神様は 笑って受け取った

精一杯なら それが一番のお供え

Chorus 2

このたびは 幣も取りあへず

ありあわせの真心 全部捧げて

のちの天神様も 苦笑いのまま

あとは まにまに まにまに

神のまにまに

完璧じゃないから 美しいんだ

Breakdown

このたびは 幣も取りあへず 手向山

紅葉の錦 神のまにまに

Last Chorus

このたびは もう迷わない

持ってきたものすべてが 私の幣だ

紅葉みたいに 燃えてみせるよ

あとは まにまに まにまに

神のまにまに

なるようになれと 走り出した

Outro

まにまに…… 神のまにまに……

English

Konotabi wa (Sugawara no Michizane, Hyakunin Isshu No. 24) / Garu JP

I woke up this morning before my alarm

Checked what's in my bag three times over

The pages I should know by heart — one more time

My fingers turning them won't move right

A perfect preparation was never going to happen

Then I'll just take everything I've got

This time, no time to gather what I need

I stuff all the courage I have into my bag

Take a breath, and dive right in

The rest is mani-mani, mani-mani

In the hands of the gods

"It'll work out somehow" — I pressed my palms together

A thousand years ago, someone panicked too

A sudden journey, nothing to offer the gods

So he held out the mountain's maple leaves, blazing red

"Let this be my offering," he said to the divine

And yet the gods received it with a smile

If it's your very best, it's the finest offering of all

This time, with no sacred streamers to give

I offer up all of my makeshift heart

The future god of learning wears a wry smile

The rest is mani-mani, mani-mani

In the hands of the gods

It's beautiful because it isn't perfect

This time, with no streamers to offer, at Mount Tamuke

Let the brocade of autumn leaves be my gift, as the gods will

This time, I won't waver anymore

Everything I've brought with me is my offering

Like the autumn leaves, I'll blaze bright

The rest is mani-mani, mani-mani

In the hands of the gods

"Come what may!" — and I broke into a run

Mani-mani... in the hands of the gods...

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