Sutsu to naraba ukiyo o itou shirushi aran ware miba kumore aki no yo no tsuki - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

捨つとならば憂き世を厭ふしるしあらん
我見ば曇れ秋の夜の月

Roma-ji: Sutsu to naraba ukiyo o itou shirushi aran ware miba kumore aki no yo no tsuki
English Translation: If I've cast it off,
there should be some sign that I
spurn this sorry world—
when I look at you, then cloud,
O moon of the autumn night!
Meaning: If I have truly cast the world away, there should be some sign that I spurn it—so cloud over when I look at you, moon of the autumn night.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1535

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the fifth poem of the sequence reflecting on oneself through the moon. If he has truly cast the world away, the poet says, there should be a sign that he spurns it, so let the autumn moon cloud over when he looks at it. The headnote continues from the preceding poem, "topic unknown," and records nothing of the circumstances of composition.
The author, "Saigyō Hōshi," had the lay name Satō Norikiyo. He served Retired Emperor Toba as a warrior of the North Guard, but took the tonsure at twenty-three and traveled through the provinces, leaving many poems. No author's name is given in the text; the poem follows the author of the preceding poem.

The first line, "sutsu to naraba," is hypermetric and means "if I am to cast it away."
The second line, "ukiyo o itou," refers to shunning and leaving the sorrowful world.
The third line, "shirushi aran," means "there should be a sign." If he has renounced the world, he should not be captivated by beautiful things, and the poem breaks after the third line.
The fourth line, "ware miba kumore," commands the moon: "if I look, cloud over." He admonishes himself for being drawn to the moon's beauty.
The last line, "aki no yo no tsuki," ends on a noun and is an address. Whereas the preceding poem said he had dyed his heart pure in the moon's color, here he would reject even being drawn to the moon as attachment, showing the strict resolve of a renunciant.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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