五月雨の雲の晴れ間に月冴えて
山時鳥空に鳴くなり
山時鳥空に鳴くなり
- Roma-ji
-
Samidare no kumo no harema ni tsuki saete yamahototogisu sora ni naku nari
- English Translation
-
Through a break in clouds
that bring the summer rains,
the moon shines clear,
and the mountain cuckoo
is calling in the sky
- Meaning
- In a break in the clouds of the summer rains the moon shines clear and cold, and the mountain cuckoo is calling in the sky.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Summer Poems 188
Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'The Cuckoo Before the Moon'"
Composed on the topic "The Cuckoo Before the Moon." In a break in the clouds of the summer rains the moon shines clear and cold, and in that sky the mountain cuckoo is singing. Pairing the clear moon between spells of rain with the cuckoo's voice, the poem sets a bright scene after the sequence on the summer rains. Poems on the cuckoo begin again here.
The author, "Kamo no Nariyasu," was a member of a family of priests serving the Kamo Shrines. Little else is known of his life.
This poem and the five that follow, through 193, form a sequence on the cuckoo in the season of summer rains, treated under various topics such as the moon, the rain, the barrier, and the mountains.
First line, "samidare no": modifies "kumo" in the second line, carrying over the summer rains of the preceding sequence.
Second line, "kumo no harema ni": "in a break in the clouds."
Third line, "tsuki saete": "sayu" means to be cold and clear, describing the moon shining bright.
Fourth line, "yamahototogisu": the cuckoo of the mountains. Poem 190 of this book also speaks of the "mountain cuckoo."
Fifth line, "sora ni naku nari": "nari" expresses inference from sound. Where 157 and 158 of this book heard voices "deep within the clouds," this poem hears one in the clear sky between the clouds.
- Author
- Kamo no Nariyasu
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Samidare wa toma no shizuku ni sode nurete ana shiodoke no nami no ukine ya
- Next Poem
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Ochikaeri nuru tomo kinake hototogisu ima ikuka ka wa samidare no sora