Miyamori, an early haiku translator, tells us this poem is referencing the cherry blossoms. The samurai loved the cherry blossoms. They preferred death to dishonor and thought that to die at the height of their glory was better than to growing old and fading away. The cherry blossoms, which scatter while still at their most beautiful, were seen by them as a symbol of this. In this verse, Shiko is looking at the autumn leaves in the same way. They turn beautiful, then scatter with the wind...

The kigo (season word) here is chiru momiji, falling autumn leaves. Momiji can also be used specifically for the red Japanese maple leaves. My saijiki tells me in this kigo the word means autumn leaves in general, but I wouldn't be surprised to find it being used both ways. It is a kigo for early winter, when the north wind comes down into Japan, bringing the winter cold and blowing all the leaves from the trees.

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

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1. That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩