Wasureji to chigirite ideshi omokage wa miyuran mono o furusato no tsuki

English Translation

"I will not forget"—
so we pledged as I set out,
and my face, I think,
must surely be seen there now
in the moon above my home.

Meaning

"I will not forget," we pledged as I set out, and surely my face can be seen there now in the moon that shines over my old home.

Commentary

Book Ten Travel Poems 941

Headnote: "When the poets composed on the topic 'Travel before the moon' on the occasion of the Poetry Bureau's ten-poem moon contest."
This is the twelfth of a sequence of poems on the moon seen on a journey. The speaker thinks that the image of himself, who set out pledging not to forget, must surely be seen in the moon over his old home, thinking of home from the moon on the road. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic "Travel before the moon" on the occasion of the Poetry Bureau's ten-poem moon contest.
The author, "Regent and Chancellor," is Fujiwara no Yoshitsune. A son of Regent Kujō Kanezane, he rose to Regent and Chancellor and wrote the kana preface to the Shin Kokin Wakashū.
The scene is a night of viewing the moon on a journey, far from home.
The direct occasion is composing on the topic "Travel before the moon" at the Poetry Bureau's ten-poem moon contest.
The "Poetry Bureau" of the headnote is the office established by Retired Emperor Go-Toba for the compilation of the Shin Kokin Wakashū.

The first line, "wasureji to," means "I will not forget." "Ji" expresses a negative intention, giving the words of a vow at parting.
The second line, "chigirite ideshi," means "we pledged as I set out." Like "chigiri okiteshi" in 938, it sings of a promise at departure, and like "ideshi sora" in 936, the past "shi" looks back to the moment of setting out.
The third line, "omokage wa," means "my image, as I set out."
The fourth line, "miyuran mono o," means "must surely be seen." "Ran" conjectures about a present event out of sight, and "mono o" expresses a concessive sigh.
The last line, "furusato no tsuki," means "the moon over my old home," ending on a noun. Where the preceding poem asks the moon to bring the image of the one at home, this poem imagines the traveler's own image seen in the moon at home, reversing the direction in which the image is carried.

Author

Fujiwara no Yoshitsune

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other