Sarumaru Dayū

Sarumaru no Taifu, also known as Sarumaru no Dayū (猿丸大夫) was a waka poet in the early Heian period.

[citation needed] He is a member of the Thirty Six Poetic Sages (三十六歌仙, Sanjūrokkasen), but there are no detailed histories or legends about him.

The following waka is attributed to him, a classic autumn poem (秋歌, aki no uta): 奥山に 紅葉踏みわけ 鳴く鹿の 声きく時ぞ 秋はかなしき Okuyama ni Momiji fumiwake Naku shika no Koe kiku toki zo Aki wa kanashiki

Autumn at its saddest— Rustling through the leaves and moving on alone deep into the mountains, I hear a lonely stag belling for his doe.

This poem is the 215th poem of the Kokin Wakashū, and was also incorporated into Fujiwara no Teika's famous Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, as number 5.