Mochizuki no kumogakureken inishie no aware o kyō no sora ni shiru kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

望月の雲隠れけんいにしへの
あはれを今日の空に知るかな

Roma-ji: Mochizuki no kumogakureken inishie no aware o kyō no sora ni shiru kana
English Translation: The full moon, they say,
hid itself behind the clouds,
and the sorrow then
of that day so long ago
I learn in today's sky
Meaning: The sorrow of that day long ago when the full moon, they say, hid itself behind the clouds, I come to know in today's sky.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Buddhist Poems 1249

Headnote: "Composed thinking of the Buddha's passing among the sal trees long ago, at evening on the day of the Nirvana service at Yamashinadera"
He composed this at evening on the day of the Nirvana service at Yamashinadera, that is, Kōfukuji, thinking of the Buddha's passing beneath the twin sal trees long ago; the "shara" of the headnote refers to those sal trees. The sorrow of that day long ago when the full moon hid in the clouds, I come to know in today's sky, he says. The Buddha is said to have passed away on the fifteenth day of the second month, the day of the full moon, and his passing is likened to the full moon hiding behind the clouds. Gazing up at the evening sky on the day of the service, he feels in himself the grief of the Buddha's passing long ago.
The author, "Eshō Hōshi," was a monk of the late Heian period, but the details of his life are not known.
1231 in this book likens the Buddha to the moon over Vulture Peak and says that to think it has set is delusion. This poem grieves over the Buddha's passing, likening it to the full moon hidden by clouds; the two share the figure of the Buddha as the moon, yet differ in spirit, one speaking from enlightenment and the other from mourning.

First line, "mochizuki no": "mochizuki" is the full moon, standing for the Buddha, who passed away on the full-moon day of the fifteenth of the second month.
Second line, "kumogakureken": "kumogakuru" means to hide behind the clouds and is also a word for the death of a noble person. "Ken," the attributive of "kemu," expresses something past known by report, "that, they say, hid itself."
Third line, "inishie no": "of long ago," the time of the Buddha's passing.
Fourth line, "aware o kyō no": "aware" is deep, quiet sorrow, and "today" is the day of the Nirvana service.
Fifth line, "sora ni shiru kana": "kana" is an exclamatory final particle, meaning that gazing up at the evening sky of the headnote he comes to know the sorrow of long ago.
Author: Eshō
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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