Ausaka no seki no shimizu ni kage miete ima ya hikuran mochizuki no koma - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢坂の関の清水に影見えて
今や引くらんもち月の駒

Roma-ji: Ausaka no seki no shimizu ni kage miete ima ya hikuran mochizuki no koma
English Translation: At Ausaka's gate,
in the spring their forms reflect,
now as they're led on,
I wonder, do they pass by,
the steeds of Mochizuki.
Meaning: Their forms mirrored in the clear spring at the Ausaka Barrier, are the horses of Mochizuki, under the full moon, being led along just now?
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 170

Headnote: "For the monthly folding screens in the reign of Engi"
The poet imagines that at this very moment the horses of the Mochizuki pasture are being led along, their forms mirrored in the clear spring at the Ausaka Barrier. Letting "mochizuki" echo both the Mochizuki pasture and the full moon, and overlaying the moonlight in the spring with the forms of the horses, it is known as a celebrated poem on the Welcoming of the Horses. According to the headnote, it accompanied a folding screen depicting the events of each month, made in the Engi era of Emperor Daigo. The headnote in the main text reads "gyō byōbu" (commanded screen), which has been taken as an error for "on-byōbu" (imperial screen) and corrected.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. The leading compiler of the Kokinshū, he wrote its Kana Preface and the Tosa Diary, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "Ausaka no," the same words as the first line of the preceding poem, names the Ausaka Barrier, the site of the Welcoming of the Horses.
Second line, "seki no shimizu ni," refers to the spring at the Ausaka Barrier. Against the preceding poem's "seki no iwakado," this poem sings of "seki no shimizu," depicting the same barrier through sound in one and reflection in the other.
Third line, "kage miete," means "their forms reflected," overlaying the horses' forms with the light of the full moon.
Fourth line, "ima ya hikuran," means "are they being led now," with the questioning particle "ya" resolved by "ran," the attributive of the present conjectural auxiliary.
Final line, "mochizuki no koma," is a pivot word in which "mochizuki" means both the Mochizuki pasture in Shinano and the full moon. It closes the poem on a noun. Whereas the preceding poem sang of the vigor of horses emerging from the hills, this one sings of a quiet reflection in the water, a contrast of motion and stillness.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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