Nani yue to omoi mo irenu yūbe dani machiideshi mono o yama no ha no tsuki - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

何ゆゑと思ひも入れぬ夕べだに
待ち出でしものを山の端の月

Roma-ji: Nani yue to omoi mo irenu yūbe dani machiideshi mono o yama no ha no tsuki
English Translation: For no reason at all,
even on evenings when
my heart was not set,
I waited for you to rise,
O moon at the mountain's rim
Meaning: Even on evenings when I gave no thought to why, I waited for you to rise—O moon at the mountain's rim.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1198

Headnote: "On the topic 'Evening Love,' at the Minase contest of fifteen love poems."
This is the second poem of the sequence on nights spent waiting for one who does not come. Even on evenings when he gave no thought to why, he waited for the moon to rise at the mountain's rim—implying how much more he waits this evening for a lover. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic "Evening Love" at the contest of fifteen love poems held at Minase.
The author, "Regent and Chancellor," is Fujiwara no Yoshitsune. A son of the Regent Kujō Kanezane, he rose to Regent and Chancellor and wrote the kana preface of the Shinkokinshū.
Minase was in Settsu Province, where Retired Emperor Go-Toba had a detached palace. The contest of fifteen love poems was held by Go-Toba at this palace.

The first line, "nani yue to," means "for what reason."
The second line, "omoi mo irenu," means "without setting my heart on it." "Iru" suggests the moon setting into the mountains, forming an association with "the moon at the mountain's rim" in the last line.
The third line, "yūbe dani," means "even on evenings." "Dani" names the lesser case to suggest the greater, leaving the implication "how much more on an evening of waiting for someone."
The fourth line, "machiideshi mono o," means "I waited for it to rise, and yet." "Machiizu" means to wait until something appears and greet it. Taking up the preceding poem's watching of the moon of the sixteenth night, waiting for the moon and waiting for a lover are overlaid.
The last line, "yama no ha no tsuki," ends on a noun. Recalling how he waited for the moon even on ordinary evenings, it leaves as lingering resonance a heart that this evening longs all the more for the moon's rising because it waits for a lover.
Author: Fujiwara no Yoshitsune
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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