On this evening when the wind rustles the oak leaves by the Nara brook, autumn already feels near — only the purification rite at the river shows that it is still summer.
Fujiwara no Ietaka (1158–1237) was a poet of the early Kamakura period and one of the compilers of the Shin Kokin Wakashū. A master ranked alongside Teika.
Loneliness for the passing summer, and the coolness that quietly accepts it.
Ietaka's summer evening, where the purification rite (misogi) is the only sign of autumn, we layered onto the end of a modern summer festival. Because the shrine grounds, with the lanterns going out and voices saying "see you next year" mingling in, are the place where the last traces of summer are now at their thickest. The chorus beats out "the wind rustles" (kaze soyogu) in the same rhythm as the original. What we wanted to say is that summer doesn't end; it "comes again." "So that we can meet again next year"—a song that closes by turning the loneliness of summer's end into a promise.
風そよぐ（新勅撰和歌集・百人一首98番）Garu JP
アイスの棒 くわえたまま
川沿いの道 自転車を押す
Tシャツの背中に 夕陽が染みて
影だけ先に 秋になる
風がふいに 涼しくなって
追い越してった 夏の後ろ姿
行かないで もう少しだけ
この夏の 続きがしたい
風そよぐ ならの小川に
花火の匂い まだ揺れてるのに
風だけが もう秋を知ってる
提灯ともる 神社の境内
わたがし持った 浴衣の子ども
茅の輪をくぐる 人の列に
「また来年」って 声が混ざる
屋台の灯りが ひとつずつ消えて
祭りのあとを 風が通る
行かないで もう少しだけ
言えなかった 言葉があるんだ
風そよぐ みそぎの川に
線香花火 落ちるみたいに
夏のしるしが 消えてゆく
終わるから きれいなんだと
大人は言うけど 認めたくない
遥か昔の この川辺にも
同じ顔した 誰かがいた
それでも風は やさしくて
「また来るよ」と そよいでいた
風そよぐ ならの小川の 夕暮れは
みそぎぞ夏の しるしなりける
行かないで と言いながら
手を振ってる 夏の背中に
ありがとうも 言えたらいいな
来年また 会えるように
風そよぐ 夏の終わりに
みそぎぞ夏の……
しるしなりける
Kaze Soyogu (Shin Chokusen Wakashu / Hyakunin Isshu No.98) Garu JP
Popsicle stick still in my mouth
I push my bike along the riverside road
The sunset soaks into my T-shirt
Only my shadow turns to autumn first
The wind suddenly grows cooler
Summer's back, passing me by
Don't go — just a little longer
I want more of this summer
The wind rustles over the Nara stream
The scent of fireworks still sways in the air
Only the wind already knows autumn
Lanterns glowing in the shrine grounds
A child in yukata holding cotton candy
In the line passing through the sacred ring
Someone's voice says "see you next year"
The stall lights go out one by one
The wind passes through after the festival
Don't go — just a little longer
There are words I never got to say
The wind rustles over the misogi stream
Like a sparkler dropping its light
The signs of summer are fading away
"Things are beautiful because they end"
Grown-ups say so, but I won't accept it
Long, long ago, by this same stream
Someone stood with the same look on their face
And still the wind was gentle
Whispering, "I'll come back again"
The wind rustles the Nara stream at dusk
Only the misogi rite tells us it is still summer
Don't go — I say, and yet
I'm waving at summer's back
I hope I can say thank you too
So we can meet again next year
The wind rustles at the end of summer
The misogi rite......
Tells us it is still summer