Tsukigoto ni nagaru to omoishi masukagami nishi no umi ni mo tomarazarikeri - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

月ごとに流ると思ひしますかがみ
西の海にもとまらざりけり

Roma-ji: Tsukigoto ni nagaru to omoishi masukagami nishi no umi ni mo tomarazarikeri
English Translation: Month by month, I thought,
it flows away to the west,
that clear mirror moon;
yet even in the western sea
it does not remain at all.
Meaning: The moon, that clear mirror I thought flowed away westward month by month, does not stay even in the western sea.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1692

Headnote: "Moon."
A poem on the topic of the moon, this is the third of Sugawara no Michizane's twelve poems on one-character topics. The moon he thought flowed away to the west each month does not stay in the western sea but comes round again into the sky. It is read as setting the returning moon against the poet himself, swept to the west with no way back.
The author, "Kan Zō Daijō Daijin," is Sugawara no Michizane. No author is named in the original; the attribution continues from the preceding poem. The son of Sugawara no Koreyoshi and renowned as a scholar and poet in Chinese, he rose to Minister of the Right but under Emperor Daigo was demoted to Provisional Governor-General of Dazaifu and died in exile. Because he was posthumously granted the office of Chancellor, he is referred to by this title.

The first line, "tsukigoto ni," means "month by month," showing the moon waxing and waning as it sinks again and again in the west.
In the second line, "nagaru to omoishi," "nagaru" describes the moon drifting west and setting. "Shi," the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki," shows that this was what he once believed.
The third line, "masukagami," is a clear, polished mirror, standing here for the moon.
The fourth line, "nishi no umi ni mo," is the western sea where the moon sets. Tsukushi, where Michizane was exiled, also lies west of the capital, and his own lot is laid over the image.
In the last line, "tomarazarikeri," "keri" expresses sudden realization. Seeing that the moon does not remain in the west but rises again, he laments the difference between it and himself, held there unable to return.
Author: Sugawara no Michizane
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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