classic waka stream

五月雨に花橘の香る夜は
月澄む秋もさもあらばあれ
Roma-ji

Samidare ni hanatachibana no kaoru yo wa tsuki sumu aki mo samo araba are

English Translation
On a night when rains
of early summer bring the scent
of orange blossoms,
the autumn with its clear moon
may be just as it will be
Meaning
On a night when the orange blossoms send their scent through the early summer rain, the autumn with its clear moon may be as it will.
Commentary
Book Three Summer Poems 176

Headnote: "Composed by the Retired Emperor as a poem on orange blossoms when he called for hundred-poem sequences"
Composed by Retired Emperor Sutoku himself on "orange blossoms" when he called for hundred-poem sequences. On a night when the orange blossoms send their fragrance through the early summer rain, even the beauty of an autumn night with a clear moon seems not to matter. Invoking the autumn moonlit night, the very model of nocturnal beauty, the poem praises the scent of orange blossoms on a rainy night as surpassing it. The orange-blossom sequence ends here, and the next poem turns to the summer rains.
The author, "Poem by Retired Emperor Sutoku," is Emperor Sutoku, eldest son of Emperor Toba. Defeated in the Hōgen Disturbance, he was exiled to Sanuki and died there. He loved poetry deeply and is known for calling for the Kyūan Hundred-Poem Sequence. A poem of his is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "samidare ni": "in the early summer rain." The next poem, 177, opens with the same words, linking this poem to the poems on the summer rains.
Second line, "hanatachibana no": names the subject, the orange blossoms.
Third line, "kaoru yo wa": "wa" sets this night against autumn moonlit nights.
Fourth line, "tsuki sumu aki mo": "even autumn, when the moon is clear," contrasting a summer night of rain with an autumn night of moonlight, and scent with light.
Fifth line, "samo araba are": "let it be as it will," declaring that even the autumn moon does not matter, and showing deep love for the orange scent.
Author
Retired Emperor Sutoku
Source
Senzai Wakashu
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