Honobono to ariake no tsuki no tsukikage ni momiji fukiorosu yamaoroshi no kaze

English Translation

Faint and dimly bright,
in the light of the moon of dawn,
the lingering moon,
blowing down the crimson leaves,
the wind that sweeps down from the hills

Meaning

In the faint light of the moon lingering at dawn, the wind sweeping down from the mountains blows the crimson leaves down with it.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems 591

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the first poem of the winter-moon sequence. Through the faint light of the moon lingering at dawn, the wind from the mountains blows the crimson leaves down. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Minamoto no Saneakira Ason," is Minamoto no Saneakira. A son of Minamoto no Kintada, he is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
The scene is the time of the dawn moon before daybreak, and the place is the foot of a mountain where the wind sweeps down.
The direct occasion is not recorded.

The first line, "honobono to," means "faintly," "dimly," indicating the half-light before dawn.
The second line, "ariake no tsuki no," refers to the moon still in the sky after daybreak.
The third line, "tsukikage ni," means "in the light of the moon." The word "tsuki," moon, is repeated in the second and third lines.
The fourth line, "momiji fukiorosu," means "blowing the crimson leaves down from the mountain" and runs to eight syllables, one over the count.
The last line, "yamaoroshi no kaze," refers to the wind blowing down from the mountains; it too runs to eight syllables and closes on a noun. "Fukiorosu" in the fourth line and "yamaoroshi" in the last repeat "orosu," to bring down, drawing a scene of leaves dancing down through the moonlight. The poem stands where the winter-showers sequence gives way to the winter-moon sequence, and the next poem, 592, likewise pairs crimson leaves with the moon.

Author

Minamoto no Saneakira

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other