Azusayumi haruka ni miyuru yama no ha o ikadeka tsuki no sashite iru ran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

梓弓はるかに見ゆる山の端を
いかでか月のさして入るらん

Roma-ji: Azusayumi haruka ni miyuru yama no ha o ikadeka tsuki no sashite iru ran
English Translation: Like a catalpa bow
drawn taut, so far off it stands,
the edge of the hills;
how is it the moon can aim
and shoot straight into that place?
Meaning: The rim of the mountains seen so far away: how is it that the moon can aim straight for it and sink into it?
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 533

Headnote: "On seeing the moon"
The poet asks how the moon can aim at the rim of the mountains, seen so far away, and enter it. The headnote shows it was composed while gazing at the moon. Setting "azusayumi," the catalpa bow, as a pillow word and stringing together words associated with the bow, it likens the moon sinking behind the mountains to an arrow shot at its target. It expresses, as a question, the wonder of the moon heading without fail toward the distant mountain rim.
The author, written as "Yoshinobu," is Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu. He served as chief priest of the Ise Shrine and, as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, took part in compiling the Gosenshū. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "azusayumi," a bow made of catalpa wood, is a pillow word that introduces "haruka" through the sound of "haru," to draw a bow.
Second line, "haruka ni miyuru," means "seen far in the distance."
Third line, "yama no ha o," means "the rim of the mountains."
Fourth line, "ikadeka tsuki no," means "how does the moon," with "ikadeka" expressing a question that answers "ran" in the final line.
Final line, "sashite iru ran," means "aim and enter," with "sashi" a pivot word on heading toward and "shooting" an arrow. In "iru," too, the sense of "shooting" an arrow is heard, making it an associated word of "azusayumi" in the first line.
Author: Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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