Aki no umi ni utsureru tsuki o tachikaeri nami wa araedo iro mo kawarazu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋の海に映れる月を立ち返り
波は洗へど色も変はらず

Roma-ji: Aki no umi ni utsureru tsuki o tachikaeri nami wa araedo iro mo kawarazu
English Translation: In the autumn sea
the moon that lies reflected,
over and again
the waves come to wash it clean,
yet its color never changes
Meaning: Again and again the waves wash the moon reflected in the autumn sea, yet its color does not change at all.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 322

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed as an autumn poem."
The poet says that the waves wash again and again the moon reflected in the autumn sea, yet its color does not change at all. Following the moon reflected in a pond in the preceding poem, it conveys the unchanging purity of the moon reflected in the sea.
Together with the preceding poem, two poems on the moon reflected on water follow one another.
The poet, called "Fukayabu," is Kiyohara no Fukayabu. Said to be a son of Kiyohara no Fusanori, he served as a secretary in the Bureau of Palace Craftsmen, among other posts. He was the great-grandfather of Sei Shōnagon and was also known as a master of the koto. His "natsu no yo wa mada yoi nagara akenuru o" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

The first line, "Aki no umi ni," means "in the autumn sea," and has an extra syllable. Against "aki no ike no" in the preceding poem, it sings of the sea.
In the second line, "ru" is the attributive form of the continuative auxiliary "ri": "the moon that lies reflected."
The third line, "tachikaeri," means "again and again," overlaid with waves surging and drawing back. 264 of Book Five also sings of waves in "nami tachikaeru."
In the fourth line, "do" gives a definite concession: "though the waves wash it."
The last line, "iro mo kawarazu," means "its color does not change." 327 of this book likewise closes with "iro mo kawaranu," singing of the moon's unchanging color.
Author: Kiyohara no Fukayabu
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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