Tsuki narade sashiiru kage no naki mama ni kururu ureshiki aki no yamazato

月ならでさし入る影のなきままに
暮るるうれしき秋の山里

Roma-ji: Tsuki narade sashiiru kage no naki mama ni kururu ureshiki aki no yamazato
English Translation: Since nothing but moonlight
ever comes to shine inside,
none but that alone,
the day's end is my delight
in this mountain home in autumn.
Meaning: Since nothing but moonlight ever comes shining in, in this mountain village in autumn I am glad when the day grows dark.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 318

Headnote: "Waiting quietly for the moon"
The topic is waiting for the moon in a quiet dwelling. Since nothing but moonlight ever comes shining into the dwelling in the mountain village, the poet is glad when the day ends, waiting for the night when the moon will rise. It expresses a heart that, in a quiet village with no visitors, looks forward only to the moon.
Kage means light, but it also echoes the sense of the figure of a visitor, showing a secluded dwelling where no one comes. The closing aki no yamazato is the same as in 302, where the moon was said to dwell in this village.

First line, “tsuki narade”: narade means not being, other than the moon.
Second line, “sashiiru kage no”: kage is light, the light that shines into the dwelling.
Third line, “naki mama ni”: since there is none, giving the reason for the fourth line.
Fourth line, “kururu ureshiki”: glad that the day ends, looking forward to the night when the moon rises.
Fifth line, “aki no yamazato”: ending on a noun, the quiet dwelling that answers the topic's stillness.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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