Machikateni waga suru tsuki wa imo ga kiru mikasa no yama ni komorite arikeri

待ちかてに我がする月は妹が着る
御笠の山に隠りてありけり

Roma-ji: Machikateni waga suru tsuki wa imo ga kiru mikasa no yama ni komorite arikeri
English Translation: Waiting, unable
to bear the wait, I watched—the moon
as my love wears hats,
on the mountain of Mikasa,
there it lay, hidden all along
Meaning: The moon I waited for, unable to bear the wait, had been hidden all along behind Mount Mikasa, named for the hats my love wears.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 987

Headnote: "A poem on the moon by Fujiwara no Asomi Yatsuka"
The poem realizes that the moon so long awaited had been hidden behind Mount Mikasa. In this book, from 980 through 987, eight poems on the moon by different poets are arranged in succession. This is the eighth, the poem that closes the sequence.
Having waited impatiently for a moon that would not appear, the poet expresses through "keri" his surprise at realizing that it had been hidden in the shadow of Mount Mikasa. Where 980 at the beginning of the sequence guessed that the moon did not appear because Mount Mikasa was so high, this poem closes as if giving the answer: the moon had been hidden by Mount Mikasa.
The poet, Fujiwara no Yatsuka, was a son of Fujiwara no Fusasaki; he later changed his name to Matate and rose to the post of Major Counselor.

This poem echoes 980 at the beginning of the sequence by singing of the same "Mount Mikasa." 980 uses "rain-sheltered" and this poem "as my love wears hats," both pillow words connected with hats (kasa) that lead into Mikasa, so that the sequence that began with the heart waiting for the moon closes by revealing where the moon had been hiding.
The first line, "Waiting, unable," means "unable to wait any longer." It frankly shows the heart impatient for the moon.
The second line, "to bear the wait, I watched—the moon," means "the moon that I await," pointing, together with the first line, to the moon so long awaited. It is singled out by the particle "wa."
The third line, "as my love wears hats," is the pillow word "imo ga kiru," which modifies "Mikasa." From the sense of the hat (kasa) that one's wife wears, it leads into Mikasa, which contains the sound "kasa."
The fourth line, "on the mountain of Mikasa," refers to Mount Mikasa east of the Nara capital. It is the same mountain as in 980, binding together the beginning and end of the sequence.
The final line, "there it lay, hidden all along," means "it had been hiding," with "keri" expressing the surprise of a sudden realization. The line has an extra syllable. By revealing the whereabouts of the long-awaited moon, it closes the sequence.
Author: Fujiwara no Yatsuka
Source: Manyoshu
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