classic waka stream

清見潟沖の岩越す白波に
光をかはす秋の夜の月
Roma-ji

Kiyomigata oki no iwa kosu shiranami ni hikari o kawasu aki no yo no tsuki

English Translation
At Kiyomi Bay,
with the white waves breaking out
over offshore rocks,
it exchanges its own light,
the moon of the autumn night.
Meaning
At Kiyomi Bay, the autumn night's moon trades its light with the white waves that break over the rocks offshore.
Commentary
Autumn Poems 324

Headnote: "The moon at a famous place"
The topic is the moon seen at a famous place. Off Kiyomi Bay in Suruga, the white waves breaking over the offshore rocks gleam white, as though exchanging light with the autumn moon. The poem paints the grand scene of a famous shore where the shining waves and the moonlight light each other.
The moon at Kiyomi Bay was also sung in 319. There a cloud in the sky was seen as the smoke of Fuji, while here the poet turns to the white waves offshore and the moonlight, singing the moon at the same famous place through two different scenes, sky and sea.

First line, “Kiyomigata”: a stretch of coast in Suruga Province, famous together with the Kiyomi Barrier.
Second line, “oki no iwa kosu”: breaking over the rocks offshore.
Third line, “shiranami ni”: with the waves that rise white as they shatter on the rocks.
Fourth line, “hikari o kawasu”: trading light with each other, personifying the shining waves and the moonlight as if they shared their hearts.
Fifth line, “aki no yo no tsuki”: ending on a noun, the moon that trades its light with the white waves.
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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