Akashigata iro naki hito no sode o miyo suzuro ni tsuki mo yadoru mono ka wa - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

明石潟色なき人の袖を見よ
すずろに月も宿るものかは

Roma-ji: Akashigata iro naki hito no sode o miyo suzuro ni tsuki mo yadoru mono ka wa
English Translation: At Akashi's flats,
look upon the sleeves of one
with no feeling heart—
could the moon without a cause
come to lodge upon them there?
Meaning: Look, moon of Akashi's flats, at the sleeves of one who knows nothing of beauty—would you lodge there for no reason at all?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1558

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the topic 'The Moon at the Seashore,' at a poetry contest of the Bureau of Poetry."
This is the fifth poem of the sequence on the moon at the seashore. Look at the sleeves of one who knows nothing of beauty, the poet says—could the moon lodge there without reason? It lodges because they are wet with tears. The headnote continues from the preceding poem: it was composed at a poetry contest of the Bureau of Poetry on the topic "The Moon at the Seashore."
The author, "Fujiwara no Hideyoshi," was the son of Fujiwara no Hidemune. He served Retired Emperor Go-Toba as a warrior of the North Guard and was also made a Fellow of the Bureau of Poetry.
Akashigata is a famous place in Harima, the tidal flats of Akashi Bay, known as a place for moon viewing.

The first line, "Akashigata," presents the famous Akashi flats. The name "Akashi," bright, echoes the brightness of the moon.
In the second line, "iro naki hito no," "iro naki hito" means one who does not understand the beauty of things, the poet speaking humbly of himself.
The third line, "sode o miyo," is imperative, meaning "look at my sleeves," and the poem breaks after the third line.
In the fourth line, "suzuro ni tsuki mo," "suzuro ni" means "for no reason, at random."
The last line, "yadoru mono ka wa," uses the rhetorical "ka wa," meaning "would it lodge?—surely not." Whereas the moon lodged on the fisherfolk's sleeves in the preceding poem, here the moon lodges even on the sleeves of one who knows nothing of beauty because they are wet with tears, showing his own grief.
Author: Fujiwara no Hideyoshi
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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