さ夜ふけてなかばたけゆく久方の
月吹き返せ秋の山風
月吹き返せ秋の山風
- Roma-ji
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Sayo fukete nakaba takeyuku hisakata no tsuki fukikaese aki no yamakaze
- English Translation
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The night has grown late,
past midway it now declines,
the moon of the far skies—
blow it back to us again,
O mountain wind of autumn!
- Meaning
- The night has grown late, and the moon of the distant heavens has passed its height and is sinking—blow it back, O autumn wind from the mountains!
- Commentary
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Book Ten Names of Things 452
Headnote: "River bamboo"
This poem calls on the autumn mountain wind to blow back the moon, which has passed the middle of the sky and is sinking as the night grows late. The title "kawatake" (river bamboo) is hidden in "nakaba takeyuku" in the second line. It is a poem of bold fancy that, lamenting the setting moon, calls on the wind to push it back, and following "nigatake" in the preceding poem, the names of bamboos stand side by side.
The poet, "Kagenori no Ōkimi," is Prince Kagenori. He appears to have been a member of the imperial family in the early Heian period, but the details of his lineage are unclear.
First line "Sayo fukete" uses the prefix "sa," meaning "the night having grown late."
Second line "nakaba takeyuku" means "passing its height and declining," said of the moon. The title "kawatake" is hidden in "kaba take."
Third line "hisakata no" is a pillow word for the heavens or the moon, here modifying "tsuki" (moon).
Fourth line "tsuki fukikaese" is imperative, calling on the mountain wind to blow the sinking moon back. The poem pauses here.
Fifth line "aki no yamakaze" closes by naming, in a noun, the one addressed.
- Author
- Prince Kagenori
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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