Akatsuki o Takano no yama ni matsu hodo ya koke no shita ni mo ariake no tsuki - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

暁を高野の山に待つほどや
苔の下にも有明の月

Roma-ji: Akatsuki o Takano no yama ni matsu hodo ya koke no shita ni mo ariake no tsuki
English Translation: For the dawn to come,
while he waits on Mount Kōya,
is that why, I wonder,
even beneath the moss
the moon lingers into morning?
Meaning: Is it while he waits on Mount Kōya for the dawn to come? Even beneath the moss, there is the moon that lingers into morning.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Buddhist Poems 1236

Headnote: "Composed on visiting Kōya"
He composed this on visiting Mount Kōya. Is it while waiting for the dawn on Mount Kōya? Even beneath the moss there is the morning moon, he says. In the inner sanctuary of Kōya it was believed that Kōbō Daishi remained in eternal meditation, waiting for the dawn of the far-off future when Maitreya would descend into the world. He imagines the lingering morning moon shining even beneath the moss-covered mausoleum as it awaits the dawn, overlaying the Daishi's endless meditation with that moon.
The author, "Jakuren Hōshi," was named Fujiwara no Sadanaga in lay life, a son of Fujiwara no Shunkai who was adopted by his uncle Fujiwara no Shunzei. He later took the tonsure and was appointed one of the compilers of the Shin Kokin Wakashū.
1210 in this book likewise asks for the darkness to be lit while waiting for the dawn of Maitreya's coming, and the two share the heart that waits for dawn.

First line, "akatsuki o": the dawn is the time when Maitreya descends into the world to save all beings. Like "sono akatsuki o" in the second line of 1210 in this book, it sings of waiting for the dawn when the Buddha appears.
Second line, "Takano no yama ni": Mount Kōya in Kii, opened by Kōbō Daishi Kūkai, where he entered eternal meditation.
Third line, "matsu hodo ya": "ya" is an interrogative binding particle, "is it while he waits?"
Fourth line, "koke no shita ni mo": "beneath the moss" is beneath a moss-grown grave, the mausoleum where the Daishi remains in meditation.
Fifth line, "ariake no tsuki": the moon still in the sky as dawn breaks, overlaid with the Daishi's heart awaiting the dawn. It closes on a noun.
Author: Jakuren
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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