Moon-dappled horse of
this autumn night, gallop up
to the cloud-realm that
I long for, so that I may
see it even a moment
- Meaning
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Moon-colored horse of this autumn night, run up to the cloud-realm I long for, that I may see her even for a moment.
- Commentary
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Part One: Akashi
On the thirteenth night of the eighth month Genji decided at last to go to the hillside house himself. Taking only Koremitsu and avoiding notice, he rode out under a bright moon. On the way he spoke this poem, addressing the pale horse under him. He is on the road to a lover, and his mind is on Murasaki no Ue in the capital. Soon after, he met Akashi no Kimi for the first time.
"Tsukige no koma" is a horse of a pale, moon-tinged coat, chosen for its link with the moon. "Kumoi" is the cloudy sky, here the capital. "Kakere" is an imperative: run. "Toki no ma" is the briefest space of time. He tells the horse to run toward the capital, so that a heart turned to someone other than the woman he is going to meet is placed in the middle of the journey to her—there lies the complication of the poem.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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