Aki no yo wa hito o shizumete tsurezure to kakinasu koto no ne ni zo nakinuru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋の夜は人をしづめてつれづれと
かきなす琴の音にぞ泣きぬる

Roma-ji: Aki no yo wa hito o shizumete tsurezure to kakinasu koto no ne ni zo nakinuru
English Translation: On an autumn night,
when all the others are asleep,
idly, all alone,
at the sound of the koto I strum
I find myself weeping aloud
Meaning: On autumn nights, when everyone has fallen asleep, I idly strum the koto, and at its sound I break into tears.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 334

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On seeing the moon."
The poet says that on autumn nights, after everyone has fallen asleep, the sound of the koto strummed idly brings on weeping aloud. In the koto echoing through the hushed autumn night, it shows long-held sorrow spilling over.
From 327 to 334, eight poems stand together under the headnote "On seeing the moon." This poem is the eighth.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Aki no yo wa," means "on autumn nights."
The second line, "hito o shizumete," means "letting others fall asleep," showing the stillness after everyone has gone to bed.
The third line, "tsurezure to," means "idly, forlornly."
In the fourth line, "kakinasu" means "to strum the strings." 265 of Book Five likewise hears the wind in the pines as the strains of a koto.
In the last line, "ne ni naku" means "to weep aloud," with "ne" layering the sound of the koto and the sound of weeping. The particle "zo" and the attributive "nuru" form a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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