Yami naraba ube mo kimasaji ume no hana sakeru tsukuyo ni idemasaji to ya

闇ならばうべも来まさじ梅の花
咲ける月夜に出でまさじとや

Roma-ji: Yami naraba ube mo kimasaji ume no hana sakeru tsukuyo ni idemasaji to ya
English Translation: Were it a dark night,
no wonder you would not come;
but the plum blossoms
bloom on a night of moonlight:
will you still not venture out?
Meaning: If the night were dark, it would be no wonder that you do not come; but on a moonlit night when the plum blossoms are out, will you still not set forth?
Commentary: Book Eight Spring Love Poems 1452

Headnote: "A poem by Lady Ki [her name was Oshika]"
The poet reproaches a lover who does not come: if the night were dark, it would be no wonder, but will he not come even on this moonlit night when the plums are in bloom? By naming the perfect conditions of a bright moonlit night, she sharpens her complaint and the ache of waiting.
The author, Lady Ki, was named Oshika according to the note in the headnote. She is said to have been a daughter of Ki no Kahito and to have become the wife of Prince Aki.

The first line is a supposition, "if it were a dark night," contrasted with the "moonlit night" of the fourth line.
The second line means "no wonder you would not come," joining the honorific "masu" to the negative conjectural "ji."
The third line, running into the fourth, shows the beauty of a night of plum blossoms.
The fourth line means "on a moonlit night when they bloom." In 1596 of this book a man visits a girl's gate on a moonlit night; against that poem from the visitor's side, this one sings of the moonlit night from the side of the one who waits.
The final line presses the question, "will you not come out?" By contrasting the darkness of the first line with the moonlight of the fourth, it implies that there can be no reason not to come.
Author: Ki no Iratsume
Source: Manyoshu
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