Fukenikeru waga mi no kage o omou ma ni haruka ni tsuki no katabukinikeru - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ふけにける我が身の影を思ふ間に
はるかに月の傾きにける

Roma-ji: Fukenikeru waga mi no kage o omou ma ni haruka ni tsuki no katabukinikeru
English Translation: As I thought upon
the form of this self of mine,
grown so late in years,
far across the sky the moon
had already sunk toward the west.
Meaning: While I was thinking of this self of mine, grown old as the night grew late, the moon had sunk far down toward the west.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1536

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the sixth poem of the sequence reflecting on oneself through the moon. While the poet was thinking of his aged self, the night grew late and the moon sank far toward the west. 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.

In the first line, "fukenikeru," "fuke" plays on "fuku," to grow old, and "fuku," for the night to grow late. It lays together in one word his own aging and the deepening of the night.
In the second line, "waga mi no kage o," "kage" means form or figure. It also echoes "kage," the light of the moon.
The third line, "omou ma ni," means "while I was thinking." It is the same line as "omou ma ni," the third line of the next poem, and the two poems are placed side by side.
The fourth line, "haruka ni tsuki no," means "far off," showing that the moon has moved far to the west.
The last line, "katabukinikeru," closes with the perfective "ni" and the past "keru": "it has sunk." The moon's sinking toward the west is overlaid with the decline of his own age.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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