面影の忘るまじき別れかな
名残を人の月にとどめて
名残を人の月にとどめて
- Roma-ji
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Omokage no wasurumajiki wakare kana nagori o hito no tsuki ni todomete
- English Translation
-
Her face in my mind
I shall never forget, this
parting at the dawn—
the lingering trace of her
left behind upon the moon
- Meaning
- It is a parting in which I shall never forget her face, for she left the lingering trace of our farewell upon the moon.
- Commentary
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Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1185
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the ninth poem of the sequence on the feelings of the morning after. Because the beloved left the lingering trace of parting upon the moon, it is a parting in which her face can never be forgotten. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Saigyō Hōshi," was named Satō Norikiyo in lay life and served as a guard of the North Quarter under Retired Emperor Toba, but took holy orders in his youth and became a poet-monk. He traveled through many provinces and left a great number of poems.
The first line, "omokage no," means "of the image in my mind," the image of the one from whom he has parted.
The second line, "wasurumajiki," means "that I can never forget," with "maji" the auxiliary of negative conjecture.
The third line, "wakare kana," means "such a parting," with a pause after the exclamatory "kana." The lower verse gives the reason in inverted order.
The fourth line, "nagori o hito no," means "she, the lingering trace of parting."
The last line, "tsuki ni todomete," means "leaving it upon the moon." The beloved's image remains in the moon they looked at together when they parted, so that she returns to mind whenever he sees it. Following 1169 and 1182 of this book, it sings of the moon, and the dawn moon is sung as that which holds the memory of parting.
- Author
- Saigyō
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Akenuredo mada kinuginu ni nariyarade hito no sode o mo nurashitsuru kana
- Next Poem
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Mata mo kon aki o tanomu no kari dani mo nakite zo kaeru haru no akebono