Aki no yo no akuru mo shirazu naku mushi wa
waga goto mono ya kanashikaruramu

English Translation

All through autumn nights,
not knowing when dawn has come,
the insects keep crying—
are they, like myself, as well,
filled with such sorrowful thoughts?

Meaning

The insects that cry on through the autumn night, unaware even of the coming dawn—are they, like me, filled with sorrow?

Commentary

Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)

This poem was paired in a poetry contest at the residence of Prince Koretada.

The long autumn night is likened to a stretch of time filled with sorrow. Having wept through such a night, the poet hears the insects and wonders if they share the same feelings of sadness.

Author

Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

Source

Kokin Wakashu

Other

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.
As bush clover fades and takes on autumn colors— the cricket’s cry; like me, who cannot find sleep, are its nights filled with sorrow?
On autumn nights, the dew above all seems cold— for in every clump of grass the insects lament, their voices filled with distress.

Aki no yo no akuru mo shirazu naku mushi wa waga goto mono ya kanashikaruramu

Aki no yo no akuru mo shirazu naku mushi wa
waga goto mono ya kanashikaruramu