Amatsusora toyo no akari ni mishi hito no nao omokage no shiite koishiki - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

天つ空豊の明りに見し人の
なほ面影のしひて恋しき

Roma-ji: Amatsusora toyo no akari ni mishi hito no nao omokage no shiite koishiki
English Translation: In the heavens' court,
at the Festival of Light
I saw her once:
even now her image stays,
dear to me beyond all reason
Meaning: The one I saw at the Festival of Abundant Light in the heavenly court: even now her image lingers, and I long for her beyond all reason.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 1004

Headnote: "Sent on seeing the attendant of the Gosechi dancer presented by Asamitsu, Major Captain of the Left."
This is the first of two poems sent to women on the occasion of a winter court festival and the year's end. The image of the one seen at the Festival of Abundant Light remains, and the speaker longs for her beyond all reason. According to the headnote, when Fujiwara no Asamitsu, Major Captain of the Left, presented a Gosechi dancer, the poet saw the woman attending her and sent this poem.
The author, "Former Major Counselor Kintō," is Fujiwara no Kintō. A son of the Regent and Chancellor Fujiwara no Yoritada, he rose to Provisional Major Counselor. Gifted in Chinese verse, waka, and music, he compiled the Wakan Rōeishū.
The Major Captain of the Left Asamitsu is Fujiwara no Asamitsu, a son of the Regent Fujiwara no Kanemichi.
The Gosechi dancers were young women who performed dances at the Harvest Festival and the Great Thanksgiving in the Eleventh Month, presented by senior nobles and provincial governors. The "kashizuki" was a lady-in-waiting who attended a dancer.

The first line, "amatsusora," means "the heavens," likening the palace to the realm above and leading into "toyo no akari."
In the second line, "toyo no akari" is the Festival of Abundant Light held at the palace the day after the Harvest Festival, when the Gosechi dances were performed. The meeting took place amid its splendor.
In the third line, "shi" is the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki": the one I saw at the festival.
The fourth line, "nao omokage no," means that even now, with the festival over, her form rises before the eyes.
In the last line, "shiite" means "beyond reason, in spite of oneself," showing a longing that grows however it is held down. Ending on the attributive "koishiki" leaves a lingering resonance. Loving one seen only once, the poem takes up the love by sight from the opening of the book while moving the stage to a brilliant court festival.
Author: Fujiwara no Kintō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Karagoromo sode ni hitome wa tsutsumedomo koboruru mono wa namida narikeri
Next Poem: Aratama no toshi ni makasete miru yori wa ware koso koeme Ōsaka no seki