Awaji nite awa to haruka ni mishi tsuki no chikaki koyoi wa tokorokara kamo - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

淡路にてあはとはるかに見し月の
近き今宵は所からかも

Roma-ji: Awaji nite awa to haruka ni mishi tsuki no chikaki koyoi wa tokorokara kamo
English Translation: At Awaji, 'There!'
I cried, seeing far away
the moon that, tonight,
seems so close—is it because
of the place where now I am?
Meaning: The moon I once saw so far off at Awaji, crying, "There it is!"—does it seem so near tonight because of where I am?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1515

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the second poem of the sequence thinking of others through the moon. The moon the poet once saw far off at Awaji, crying "there it is," seems near tonight, and he wonders whether it is because of the place. The headnote reads "topic unknown," and records nothing of the circumstances of composition.
The author, "Mitsune," was one of the compilers of the Kokin Wakashū. His full name was Ōshikōchi no Mitsune, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
Awaji refers to Awaji Island in the Inland Sea, sung as a famous place in poetry.

The first line, "Awaji nite," means "at Awaji." It recalls the moon seen in a distant land.
In the second line, "awa to haruka ni," "awa" means pointing and saying "that one there," echoing the sound of "awa" in "Awaji" in the first line.
The third line, "mishi tsuki no," uses the past "shi," meaning "the moon I once saw."
The fourth line, "chikaki koyoi wa," says that tonight the moon seems near. It pairs with "haruka ni," far away, in the second line.
In the last line, "tokorokara kamo," "tokorokara" means "because of the place," and "kamo" expresses both question and exclamation. Whereas the preceding poem thought of the capital from a journey, this poem compares the moon seen far away with the moon seen near, singing of how the moon looks different by place.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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