Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 5
okuyama nimomiji fumiwakenaku shika nokoe kiku toki zoaki wa kanashiki
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When I hear the voiceof the crying stag stepping through the autumn leavesdeep in the mountains -then I really feel the sadness of autumn

Sarumaru Dayu (late 9th c.")

[Deer in the Kasuga Shrine, Nara]

The acute sadness of autumn when one hears the cry of deer deep in the mountains.
When the poet hears the stag crying for its mate, deep in the mountains in autumn, he really feels how sad autumn is, for he, too, is separated from his beloved. This situation (the deer crying for its mate as a symbol for the poet calling for his beloved) occurs often in poetry since the Manyoshu.

A straightforward poem, without any kakekotoba etc., but there are nevertheless some difficulties in interpretation. The first point is: who is stepping through the autumn leaves" Modern commentators of the poem take this to be the poet, and that also seems to be the meaning in the Shinsen Manyoshu (and Kokinshu) in which it is first collected, but the traditional interpretation (also of Teika) is that it is the deer - and that is the one I have followed in my translation.
The second point is: what type of autumn leaves" As Mostow remarks, in another edition of this poem, "momiji" is written with characters that mean "yellow leaves" rather than "scarlet leaves," so originally the yellow leaves of the bushclover may have been meant. ...