秋の夜の有明の月の入るまでに
やすらひかねて帰りにしかな
やすらひかねて帰りにしかな
- Roma-ji
-
Aki no yo no ariake no tsuki no iru made ni yasuraikanete kaerinishi kana
- English Translation
-
On an autumn night
till the moon of the dawning sky
sank beyond the hills,
I could not linger waiting,
and so I went home again
- Meaning
- On that autumn night I could not bear to linger until the lingering dawn moon had set, and so I went home.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1169
Headnote: "Sent the next morning after he had had someone knock at Izumi Shikibu's gate late one night past the tenth of the Ninth Month, and she had not heard."
This is the third poem of the sequence on parting at dawn. On an autumn night he could not linger until the dawn moon set, and so he went home. According to the headnote, he had someone knock at Izumi Shikibu's gate late at night after the tenth of the Ninth Month, and since she did not hear, he sent this poem the next morning.
The author, "Atsumichi, Prince and Governor-General of Dazaifu," was a son of Emperor Reizei, called Sochi no Miya because he was appointed Governor-General of Dazaifu. He was the lover of Izumi Shikibu.
This occasion is also recorded in The Izumi Shikibu Diary.
The first line, "aki no yo no," means "of the long autumn night." The length of the night suggests the long time he spent before the gate that would not open.
The second line, "ariake no tsuki no," means "of the moon that remains in the sky at dawn." After the tenth of the Ninth Month the moon rises late at night and remains in the sky until dawn.
The third line, "iru made ni," means "until the moon sinks behind the hills."
The fourth line, "yasuraikanete," means "unable to linger there." Like "ware koso kaere" in the preceding poem, it expresses the feelings of one who goes home without meeting.
The last line, "kaerinishi kana," means "I went home." The perfective "ni" and past "shi" are followed by the exclamatory "kana"; lamenting that he could not even wait until the moon set, he conveys to her his regret that she did not notice him.
- Author
- Prince Atsumichi
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Au koto no akenu yo nagara akenureba ware koso kaere kokoro ya wa yuku
- Next Poem
-
Kokoro ni mo aranu waga mi no yukikaeri michi no sora nite kienubeki kana