Quail in the Grasses

Quail in the Grasses is a popular theme in Japanese probably due to the poem I'm going to post below.

#quail #japaneseart #shunzei #waka

18th - 19th painting by unknown artist from Japan 

This and other images of quail and grass may have been illustrated this famous poem by Shunzei also known as Fujiwara Toshinari  SZSIV259 or SKKS 4.291 also Waka.net and Miner

YUU SAREBA

NOBE NO AKIKAZE

MI NI SHIMITE

UZURA NAKU NARI

FUKAKUSA SATO

Its one of those elegant Heian waka that are both simple yet complex

Evening is passing over
fields vicinity of autumn wind  note fields NOT Moors see my note on Fukasato
nobe is written as no+be with kanji in the text i saw but spoken it could mean stretching
shimite could be shimeru pierced by cold wind feel pain or frozen and chilled
uzura are quail they could be wild or domestic
village of dense deep grass
this is an actual location now a suburb between Kyoto and Fushimi

Its evening a cold wind is moving and the quail are crying perhaps just their roosting call but perhaps some predator is stalking them?

Perhaps this was one of those rare areas where the soil wasnt right for rice paddies but the grasses had been left to grow for cattle and horses ?

The poet isnt in the city or the deep mountains but a semi rural area
Nowhere exotic but he makes the moment special and memorable!