In the moon above,
the cassia tree there too, perhaps,
in autumn still
turns to crimson leaves—so that
its light shines all the more bright.

Meaning

Even the cassia tree said to be in the moon—perhaps because it turns red in autumn—the moonlight seems to shine all the more brightly.

Commentary

Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)

This poem was composed and paired at a poetry contest held at the residence of Prince Koretada.

It imagines that the moon in autumn appears more beautiful because the cassia tree, said in Chinese legend to grow upon the moon, has turned to autumn colors.
Though the tree belongs to legend, the poem suggests that autumn exists in the heavens as it does on earth, and that even this mythical tree takes on autumn hues, reflecting the poet’s rich sensitivity.

“Hisakata no” is a pillow word for “moon.”

Author

Mibu no Tadamine

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

It must be midnight— the night has grown deep, it seems; as the wild geese cry, across that sounding autumn sky the moon is seen to pass along.
When I see the moon, my thoughts scatter into grief— in countless ways; though this autumn is not mine alone, it feels so to my heart.
On an autumn night, the moonlight shines so bright that even Kurabu’s mount— the mountain of deep darkness— seems as though I could cross it.
Cricket, do not cry so bitterly in the night— for this autumn eve, though long your lament may be, my own thoughts are longer still.

In the moon above, the cassia tree there too, perhaps, in autumn still turns to crimson leaves—so that its light shines all the more bright.

In the moon above,
the cassia tree there too, perhaps,
in autumn still
turns to crimson leaves—so that
its light shines all the more bright.