Kokoro aru hito nomi aki no tsuki o miba nani o ukimi no omoide ni sen - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

心ある人のみ秋の月を見ば
何を憂き身の思ひ出にせん

Roma-ji: Kokoro aru hito nomi aki no tsuki o miba nani o ukimi no omoide ni sen
English Translation: If only those who
have a feeling heart should see
the moon of autumn,
what then might I, sorry soul,
keep as memory of my life?
Meaning: If only those with a feeling heart were to look upon the autumn moon, what would a wretched one like me have to remember?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1541

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the eleventh poem of the sequence reflecting on oneself through the moon. If only those who understand beauty were to see the autumn moon, the poet asks, what could a wretched one like himself keep as a memory? The headnote reads "topic unknown," and records nothing of the circumstances of composition.
The author, "Minamoto no Mitsuyuki," was the son of Minamoto no Mitsusue. He served as Governor of Kawachi, among other posts, and is known for his collation of the text of The Tale of Genji.

The first line, "kokoro aru," means "understanding the beauty of things."
The second line, "hito nomi aki no," means "only such people, the autumn."
The third line, "tsuki o miba," is a supposition: "if they are to see the moon."
The fourth line, "nani o ukimi no," means "what, for my wretched self," asking with the rhetorical "nani." He humbly sets himself apart from "those with a feeling heart."
The last line, "omoide ni sen," means "shall I make my memory?" Following the preceding poems that thought of age through the moon, it shows paradoxically that for a wretched self, the autumn moon alone is the memory of a lifetime.
Author: Minamoto no Mitsuyuki
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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