隈もなき御空に秋の月澄めば
庭には冬の氷をぞ敷く
庭には冬の氷をぞ敷く
- Roma-ji
-
Kuma mo naki misora ni aki no tsuki sumeba niwa ni wa fuyu no kōri o zo shiku
- English Translation
-
When in the heavens
without a shadow the moon
of autumn shines clear,
across the garden there is spread
the ice of winter
- Meaning
- When the autumn moon shines clear in a sky without a single cloud, the garden below seems spread with the ice of winter.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Autumn Poems I 279
Headnote: "Composed as a moon poem"
Composed on "the moon." When the autumn moon shines clear in a sky without a single shadow, the garden lit by its light looks white and chill, as if spread with the ice of winter. Contrasting autumn in the sky with winter in the garden, the poem likens the cold, clear moonlight to ice.
The author, "Former Middle Counselor Masayori," is Minamoto no Masayori, son of Provisional Middle Counselor Minamoto no Masakane, who rose to Provisional Middle Counselor.
Besides this poem, 288, 289, 293 and 294 of this book also liken moonlight to ice, so that the pairing of moon and ice forms one strand of this book's moon poems.
First line, "kuma mo naki": "kuma" is anything that clouds or shadows, so "without a single shadow." Poem 286 of this book also lets "kuma" resound in "omoikuma."
Second line, "misora ni aki no": "misora" is an honorific for the sky.
Third line, "tsuki sumeba": the realized condition, "when the moon shines clear."
Fourth line, "niwa ni wa fuyu no": paired with "misora ni aki no" in the second line, contrasting sky and garden, autumn and winter.
Fifth line, "kōri o zo shiku": "zo" closes with the attributive "shiku," likening the garden lit white to a floor spread with winter ice. Poems 288 and 289 of this book also liken moonlight to ice.
- Author
- Minamoto no Masayori
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
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