The Autumn Goddess ~ Beautiful Japan

over 2 years ago

so the autumn leaves
scatter like fragments of cloth

Japan is, as they say, the land of the gods. Two of the more popular ones, at least traditionally, were the goddesses of Spring and Autumn. Let's look at the latter of those two goddesses: Tatsutahime, the autumn princess.

Tatsutahime (竜田姫)—Princess Tatsuta—is the goddess of autumn in Japanese mythology. She is said to live in the mountains to the west of Nara on Tatsutayama—Mount Tatsuta. Tatsutayama is famous for its red maple leaves.

She is the goddess of dyeing and weaving. It is said she dyes the leaves beautiful colors in Autumn and then becomes a strong wind and blows all of them away.

A poem by Prince Kanemi:

Tatsutahime
must have offerings to make
to gods on her way:
so the autumn leaves
scatter like fragments of cloth

This was taken in the beautiful Kourankei valley, which is a very popular place to see the autumn leaves, near Toyota City. Mother Nature, or Tatsutahime, certainly did her work well on this day. Look at all those colors!

❦

	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.