Momiji: lyrics, autumn colours and Japanese vocabulary
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Discover “Momiji”, a song about autumn mountains and leaves floating on the water. Japanese lyrics with furigana, an English translation and explanations of the vocabulary and grammar.
In this article
Video: “Momiji” sung by NAOCO
Vocals: NAOCO. Discover the song with the Japanese lyrics, furigana and the translation.
Background: what is this song?
“Momiji” is a Japanese school song: lyrics by Tatsuyuki Takano, music by Teiichi Okano. It was published in 1911 in a collection for the second year of primary school. The same authors created “Oborozukiyo”. The first verse contemplates a mountain in the setting sun; the second follows leaves floating in the current of a valley stream.
The title: momiji and kōyō
The characters 紅葉 are read as momiji or kōyō, among other readings. The title of this song is read momiji. Kōyō means the autumn colouring of leaves, or the foliage so coloured. Momiji can mean autumn leaves, but also a maple or its leaves. In the song, maples stand alongside climbing plants.
Lyrics: first verse
Some spellings are simplified to make reading easier. This original JAPANITIES translation helps you understand the text; it is not meant to be sung.
- In the autumn setting sun, the foliage of the mountain glows.
- Among its countless shades, some deep, some pale,
- the maples and vines that adorn the pines
- draw at the foot of the mountain a pattern, like the hem of a garment.
Understanding: the mountain as a garment
Koi and usui evoke intense or pale colours here. The pines stay green, while the maples and vines turn red and yellow. Suso is the hem of a garment; susomoyō means the pattern that decorates it. You can imagine the mountain as a great kimono, whose hem is adorned by the foliage.
Lyrics: second verse
The gaze moves down to the water. The fallen leaves drift apart and come near again, composing coloured patterns on the surface.
- In the current of the valley stream float the fallen autumn leaves.
- Rocked by the waves, they drift apart, then draw near.
- Red, yellow, in all the variety of their colours,
- they weave on the water too a sumptuous brocade.
Understanding: a brocade on the water
Tani means a valley between mountains. Chiriuku evokes fallen leaves floating; hanarete yotte, their movement of drifting apart then coming together. Nishiki is a fabric decorated with patterns woven from threads of different colours, comparable to brocade. Here, the leaves become threads and the water a fabric: their movements compose an imaginary cloth.
Comparing with Oborozukiyo
Oborozukiyo moves from a spring evening to a night lit by the moon; Momiji leads the gaze from the autumn mountain to the water. Both songs observe nature with attention. In Momiji, susomoyō and nishiki link the two verses with images of garments and fabrics.
To learn: spot the colours and the movements
Read the lyrics slowly. In the first verse, look for the colours; in the second, the movements. Tap the underlined words to find out what they mean and add the ones you want to review to your favourites. Notes on Japanese grammar accompany the lyrics.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01Les unes…, les autres…
les unes + adjective, les autres + adjective
Parmi leurs innombrables teintes, les unes profondes, les autres pâles,Key pointsLes unes and les autres refer to the feminine plural noun teintes (shades). They set out differences within a group: “some deep, some pale”.
02The relative clause with qui
noun + qui + verb
les érables et les lianes qui parent les pinsKey pointsQui picks up les érables et les lianes just before it and becomes the subject of parent. Here parent is not the noun “parent” but the third-person plural present of the verb parer (to adorn).
03Pronominal verbs of approach and separation
se + verb
Bercées par les vagues, elles s’éloignent puis se rapprochent.Key pointsS’éloigner (to move away) and se rapprocher (to draw closer) are pronominal verbs. Elles refers to feuilles (leaves). Se becomes s’ before a vowel.
04Agreement of the detached past participle
past participle + complement
Bercées par les vagues, elles s’éloignent puis se rapprochent.Key pointsBercées is the past participle of bercer (to rock) and takes -es to agree with the feminine plural feuilles. It describes the leaves’ state “rocked by the waves”.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Including both with も…も
A も B も
濃いも薄いも 数ある中にKey pointsA repeated も brings two elements together: the dark shades as well as the pale ones. The adjectives are used elliptically: we understand “those that are dark, those that are pale”.
02Listing examples with や
A や B
松をいろどる 楓や蔦はKey pointsや joins examples without presenting an exhaustive list. 楓や蔦 means maples and vines, among others. は then shows the topic being talked about.
03Linking movements: the て-form
verb て + verb て
波にゆられて 離れて寄ってKey points離れて is the te-form of 離れる and 寄って that of 寄る. Here they link two movements: drifting apart, then coming close. The context suggests repetition.
04Adding “also” to a place with にも
place + にも
水の上にも 織る錦Key pointsに places the scene and も adds “also”. After the colours of the mountain, the song finds the same richness of colour on the water too.