Fuyu no yo no ike no kōri no sayakeki wa tsuki no hikari no migaku narikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

冬の夜の池の氷のさやけきは
月の光の磨くなりけり

Roma-ji: Fuyu no yo no ike no kōri no sayakeki wa tsuki no hikari no migaku narikeri
English Translation: On a winter night
the ice upon the pond shines
so clear and so bright—
it is the light of the moon
that has polished it to gleam.
Meaning: The reason the ice on the pond is so clear and bright on a winter night is that the moonlight has polished it.
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 240

Headnote: "For the sliding panels at the house of Lord Rengi"
The poem says that the ice on the pond looks so clear and bright on a winter night because the moonlight is polishing it. Through the wit of attributing the ice's gleam to moonlight, it depicts the brilliance of a crisp winter night. According to the headnote, it was written for the sliding panels at the house of Lord Rengi, that is, Fujiwara no Yoritada.
The author, written as Motosuke, is Kiyohara no Motosuke. A grandson of Kiyohara no Fukayabu, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū and in reading the Man'yōshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber. He was the father of Sei Shōnagon and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "fuyu no yo no," means "of the winter night." Together with 241 and 242 in this book, three poems on ice and the moon on a winter night stand in a row.
Second line, "ike no kōri no," means "the ice of the pond."
Third line, "sayakeki wa," means "that it is so clear and bright."
Fourth line, "tsuki no hikari no," means "the light of the moon."
Final line, "migaku narikeri," means "it is polishing it," with "keri" expressing the exclamation of realization. The ice is seen as something polished like a mirror.
Author: Kiyohara no Motosuke
Source: Shui Wakashu
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