Hikikaete hana miru haru wa yoru wa naku tsuki miru aki wa hiru nakaranan

引きかへて花見る春は夜はなく
月見る秋は昼なからなん

Roma-ji: Hikikaete hana miru haru wa yoru wa naku tsuki miru aki wa hiru nakaranan
English Translation: Changing them around,
in the spring when blossoms show
let there be no night,
and in autumn of the moon
may there be no day at all.
Meaning: If only they could be exchanged: in spring, when we view the blossoms, let there be no night, and in autumn, when we view the moon, let there be no day.
Commentary: Spring Poems 71

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing many poems on cherry blossoms"
The poet wishes that in spring, the season for blossoms, there might be no night when they cannot be seen, and that in autumn, the season for the moon, there might be no day when it cannot be seen. The bold idea of trading day for night expresses a longing to savor blossoms and moon to the full.
Pairing spring blossoms and the autumn moon, the classic seasonal emblems, the poem sets hana miru haru wa and tsuki miru aki wa in parallel. It brings the moon into the cherry poems and leads into the next poem on blossoms and moon.

First line, “hikikaete”: exchanging, switching them around.
Second line, “hana miru haru wa”: in the spring when we view blossoms, paired with tsuki miru aki wa in the fourth line.
Third line, “yoru wa naku”: there being no night.
Fourth line, “tsuki miru aki wa”: in the autumn when we view the moon, parallel to the second line.
Fifth line, “hiru nakaranan”: nan expresses a wish, if only there were no day, closing the poem.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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