奥山に

紅葉踏みわけ

鳴く鹿の

声聞く時ぞ

秋は悲しき

Hokusai

さるまるだゆう

おくやまに

もみじふみわけ

なくしかの

こえきくときぞ

あきはかなしき

Sarumaru Dayu

Deep in the mountains,

Chasing through crimson leaves,

The call of the deer.

When I hear that cry,

How sad the autumn feels.

Sarumaru Dayu (no dates known - active around 708 to 715), also called Sarumaru no Taifu, was a waka poet in the early Heian period. There are no detailed histories or legends about him. There is a possibility that there never was such a person. Some believe him to have been Prince Yamashiro no Oe.

作者略伝と語釈

Sika deer (Cervus nippon)

As you can hear, the call of the sika stag goes from a whistle to a penetrating wail. It seems that also Hokusai interpreted the poem as a late autumn event. We see the deer on the top of the mountain, and one woman is pointing towards them.