Ishikawa no Semi no Ogawa no kiyokereba tsuki mo nagare o tazunete zo sumu - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

石川の瀬見の小川の清ければ
月も流れを尋ねてぞすむ

Roma-ji: Ishikawa no Semi no Ogawa no kiyokereba tsuki mo nagare o tazunete zo sumu
English Translation: The stony river,
the little Semi stream,
runs so pure and clear
that the moon, too, seeks its current
and dwells there, shining clear.
Meaning: Because the little Semi stream of the stony river runs so pure, the moon too seeks out its current and dwells there, shining clear.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Poems on the Gods 1894

Headnote: "On the moon, when people composed poems for the Kamo Shrine poetry contest."
This is the seventh poem in the sequence on the Kamo Shrines. Because the little Semi stream of the stony river runs so pure, the moon too seeks out its current and dwells there, shining clear. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic of the moon when people composed poems for the Kamo Shrine poetry contest. The moon lodging in the pure river is overlaid with the purity of the sacred precinct.
The author, Kamo no Chōmei, was a son of Kamo no Nagatsugu, a priest of the Lower Kamo Shrine, and is known as the author of the essay Hōjōki.
The Semi stream is said to be another name for the Kamo River. Chōmei's treatise on poetry, Mumyōshō, records that the name was little known at the time and the poem was faulted at the contest, but that Chōmei later rejoiced when it was chosen for the Shin Kokinshū.
The first line in the main text reads "Ishikawa no," which does not match "Ishikawa ya" in the reading line. The main text is followed here.

The first line, "Ishikawa no," means "of the stony river," describing the Semi stream.
The second line, "Semi no Ogawa no," is another name for the Kamo River.
The third line, "kiyokereba," means "because it is pure," the perfective with "ba" expressing a reason.
The fourth line, "tsuki mo nagare o," means "the moon, too, its current."
In the last line, "tazunete zo sumu," "sumu" is a pivot word joining the moon "shining clear" and the moon "dwelling," lodging there. The particle "zo" is closed by the attributive "sumu" in kakari-musubi. Following the prayer to the water god in the preceding poem, it tells of the purity of the Kamo's waters.
Author: Kamo no Chomei
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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