The light that falls on
every village alike we
see, but who is it
that goes seeking Irusa,
the hill where the moon goes in

Meaning

We see the light that falls on every village without distinction—but who goes looking for Irusa, the hill the moon slips behind?

Commentary

Part One: Suetsumuhana

　Genji answered To no Chujo's poem on the spot with this one. He turns the question aside lightly, saying he has no intention of naming his destination, and asks in return who his friend is to be prying. Afterward the two went on writing to the Hitachi princess, each trying to get ahead of the other. No answer came, and her silence only sharpened their interest.

　"The light that makes no distinction among villages" is moonlight falling on all alike, standing for a man who behaves the same toward everyone. "Irusa" is the name of a hill where the moon sets, and it plays on "to go in," taking up To no Chujo's "where you go in to." Carrying the moon imagery forward while turning the sense toward "do not pry," it is a neatly finished piece of repartee.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

The light that falls on every village alike we see, but who is it that goes seeking Irusa, the hill where the moon goes in

The light that falls on
every village alike we
see, but who is it
that goes seeking Irusa,
the hill where the moon goes in