Aimishi mo mada minu koi mo hototogisu tsuki ni naku yo zo yo ni nizari keru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あひ見しもまだ見ぬ恋も郭公
月に鳴く夜ぞ世に似ざりける

Roma-ji: Aimishi mo mada minu koi mo hototogisu tsuki ni naku yo zo yo ni nizari keru
English Translation: Love already met,
love not yet met, either one—
when the cuckoo sings
beneath the moon, such a night
has no equal in this world
Meaning: Whether a love already met or a love not yet met, a night when the cuckoo sings beneath the moon is like nothing else in this world.
Commentary: Book Four Summer Poems 157

Headnote: "Sent to someone on a night around the Fourth Month when the moon was lovely."
Whether a love already consummated or one not yet met, a night when the cuckoo sings beneath the moon pierces the heart like nothing else. The poem tells how the cuckoo's voice on a moonlit night stirs every kind of longing.
According to the headnote, it was sent to someone on a night around the Fourth Month when the moon was especially fine.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the author as "yomibito mo," but it is treated here as anonymous.

The first line, "Aimishi mo," means "a love already met," with "aimiru" meaning for lovers to meet and share their vows.
The second line, "mada minu koi mo," means "a love not yet met," pairing with the first line to embrace every kind of love.
The third line, "hototogisu," places the cuckoo, singing on moonlit nights, as the thing that stirs the heart.
The fourth line, "tsuki ni naku yo zo," means "the night it sings beneath the moon," with "zo" as an emphatic particle. It answers the lovely moonlit night of the headnote.
The last line, "yo ni nizari keru," means "has no equal in the world," with the attributive "keru" completing the kakarimusubi pattern with "zo" in the fourth line. "Yo," night, in the fourth line and "yo," world, in the last line repeat the same sound.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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