夕月夜心もしのに白露の
置くこの庭にこほろぎ鳴くも
置くこの庭にこほろぎ鳴くも
- Roma-ji
-
Yūzukuyo kokoro mo shino ni shiratsuyu no oku kono niwa ni kōrogi naku mo
- English Translation
-
On a moonlit eve,
till my heart droops with feeling,
where the white dew lies
in this garden settled deep,
the crickets are singing
- Meaning
- On an evening lit by the young moon, in this garden where white dew lies, the crickets are singing, till my heart droops with feeling.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1552
Headnote: "A poem on the cricket by Prince Yuhara"
On a night lit by the evening moon, crickets sing in a garden where white dew has settled, and the poet is steeped in a feeling so deep that his heart droops. Moonlight, white dew, and the voices of insects, all emblems of autumn, are gathered in one garden to paint the quiet, clear mood of an autumn night.
The author, Prince Yuhara, was a son of Prince Shiki and a member of the imperial family in the Nara period, known for the clarity of his poetic style.
The first line names the evening moon, or an evening when the moon is out.
The second line, "till my heart droops," modifies "sing" in the final line, expressing how the insects' voices move him.
The third line names the white dew that settles on plants at night, lit by the evening moon.
The fourth line means "in this garden where it lies."
The final line, with the exclamatory "mo," expresses his wonder at the crickets' voices. "Kōrogi" was a general name for insects that sing in autumn, not limited to the modern cricket.
- Author
- Prince Yuhara
- Source
- Manyoshu
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