Madoromade nagame yo tote no susabi kana asa no sagoromo tsuki ni utsu koe

English Translation

Is it a pastime
meant to tell me, 'Do not sleep—
gaze on through the night'?
the sound of hempen robes struck
beneath the light of the moon

Meaning

Is it a whim meant to tell me, 'Do not doze off—keep gazing at the moon'? The sound of hempen robes being beaten in the moonlight.

Commentary

Book Five Autumn Poems II 479

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "At a poetry contest of the Poetry Office, on the topic 'beating robes beneath the moon.'"
This is the fifth poem of the fulling-block sequence. The sound of hempen robes beaten in moonlight is heard as a pastime meant to say, "Do not doze—keep gazing at the moon." The headnote continues from the preceding poem: it was composed on the topic "beating robes beneath the moon" at a poetry contest of the Poetry Office.
The author was a daughter of Minamoto no Moromitsu and a lady-in-waiting and poet in the service of Retired Emperor Go-Toba. Recognized young for her talent, she was active in the retired emperor's poetic circle, but died early.
The scene is a moonlit autumn night, in a dwelling within hearing of the fulling blocks.
As with the preceding poem, the direct occasion was the topic "beating robes beneath the moon," set at a poetry contest of the Poetry Office.

In the first line, "de" is a negative conjunctive particle: "without dozing."
In the second line, "nagame" means to gaze while lost in thought, here at the moon; "tote" means "with the intention that."
In the third line, "susabi" is something done for amusement as the mood takes one, and "kana" is exclamatory. The poem breaks here.
In the fourth line, "sa" is a prefix, and the phrase denotes a coarse robe woven of hemp.
The last line, "tsuki ni utsu koe," is the sound of robes beaten in moonlight, ending on a noun. The sound of beating that continues late into the night is heard, with playfully shifted reasoning, as the beater's pastime meant to keep one awake gazing at the moon, uniting the topic's "moon" and "beating robes." In 476 and 477 the sound of the fulling blocks hindered dreams and sleep; here it keeps one awake to gaze at the moon, reversing how the same sound is received. With 478, on the same topic, it divides the theme between a spirit of reproach and one of diversion.

Author

Kunaikyo

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other