夜もすがら見てを明かさむ秋の月
今宵の空に雲なからなん
今宵の空に雲なからなん
- Roma-ji
-
Yomosugara mite o akasamu aki no tsuki koyoi no sora ni kumo nakaranan
- English Translation
-
All the whole night through
I will gaze till break of dawn
at the autumn moon;
in the sky of this night here
may there be no clouds at all.
- Meaning
- I will gaze at the autumn moon all night until dawn. May there be no clouds in tonight's sky.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 177
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Resolving to gaze at the harvest moon all night until dawn, the poet wishes that no clouds will cover tonight's sky. The poem shows a simple heart that wishes to behold the full moon to the very last.
The author, written as Kanemori, is Taira no Kanemori. Of a Taira line descended from Emperor Kōkō, he was a poet of the mid-Heian period. He is known for his performance at the palace poetry contest of the fourth year of Tentoku and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "yomosugara," means "all night long." The main text writes it with the characters 終夜.
Second line, "mite o akasamu," means "I will gaze until dawn," with "o" as an emphatic interjectory particle and "mu" as a volitional auxiliary.
Third line, "aki no tsuki," is the harvest moon the poet means to keep watching. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "koyoi no sora ni," means "in tonight's sky," taking up "koyoi no tsuki" from the preceding poem.
Final line, "kumo nakaranan," means "may there be no clouds," with "nan" as a particle expressing a wish directed at another. Whereas the preceding poem said the moon can be seen everywhere, this one fears clouds hiding it, pairing the moon that is seen with the worry of its being hidden. The sequence on the moon closes with this poem.
- Author
- Taira no Kanemori
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Izuko ni ka koyoi no tsuki no miezaran akanu wa hito no kokoro narikeri
- Next Poem
-
Obotsukana izuko naruran mushi no ne o tazuneba kusa no tsuyu ya midaren