Kuraki yori kuraki michi ni zo irinubeki haruka ni terase yama no ha no tsuki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

暗きより暗き道にぞ入りぬべき
はるかに照らせ山の端の月

Roma-ji: Kuraki yori kuraki michi ni zo irinubeki haruka ni terase yama no ha no tsuki
English Translation: Out of the darkness
on into a darker path
I am bound to stray;
shine on me from far away,
moon above the mountain's rim.
Meaning: From darkness I am bound to wander into a darker path still. Shine on me from far away, moon on the rim of the mountains.
Commentary: Book Twenty Lament Poems 1342

Headnote: "Composed and sent to the Holy Man Shōkū"
The poet says she is bound to wander from darkness into a darker path, and asks the moon at the mountain's rim to shine on her from afar. The headnote shows it was composed and sent to the Holy Man Shōkū of Mount Shosha. Drawing on the passage in the Parable of the Phantom City chapter of the Lotus Sutra, "from darkness into darkness," she prays to be saved from wandering in the darkness of the passions, likening the moon rising at the mountain's rim to the moon of suchness, the Buddha's teaching and the holy man's guidance. It is famous as one of Izumi Shikibu's best-known poems.
The author, written as "Shikibu, daughter of Masamune," is Izumi Shikibu. A daughter of Ōe no Masamune, Governor of Echizen, she was called Izumi Shikibu from her marriage to Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi. She is one of the Thirty-Six Later Immortal Poets and is known for her poem "arazaramu" in the Hyakunin Isshu.
It draws on the phrase "from darkness into darkness" in the Parable of the Phantom City chapter of the Lotus Sutra.

First line, "kuraki yori," means "from darkness," the darkness of the passions.
Second line, "kuraki michi ni zo," means "into a darker path," repeating "kuraki" from the first line to show delusion deepening. The binding particle "zo" is resolved by the attributive "beki" in the third line.
Third line, "irinubeki," means "I am bound to enter," with "nu" perfective and "beki" the attributive form of the conjectural "beshi." The poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "haruka ni terase," means "shine from far away," calling to the moon in the imperative.
Final line, "yama no ha no tsuki," means "moon on the rim of the mountains," ending on a noun. Drawing on the moon of suchness, which likens the Buddha's teaching to the moon, it speaks of the holy man's guidance.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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