classic waka stream

秋はただ今宵一夜の名なりけり
同じ雲居に月は澄めども
Roma-ji

Aki wa tada koyoi hitoyo no na narikeri onaji kumoi ni tsuki wa sumedomo

English Translation
Autumn, all in all,
is a name just for one night,
this night that is now:
though in the same cloudy sky
the moon shines clear on other nights.
Meaning
The name of autumn belongs to this one night alone, though the moon shines clear in the same sky on other nights too.
Commentary
Autumn Poems 334

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The fifteenth night of the eighth month"
This is the sixth poem in the series on the fifteenth night. The autumn moon is praised, but only this one night of the fifteenth truly deserves the name, even though the moon shines clear in the same sky on other nights. It praises the moon of the fifteenth as beyond comparison with the moon on other autumn nights by saying that the very name of autumn exists for this night.
Following the preceding poem, which held life dear for the sake of this moon, this one gathers even the name of the season into this single night, stressing how special the moon of the fifteenth is.

First line, “aki wa tada”: autumn is only, leading on to the following lines.
Second line, “koyoi hitoyo no”: of this one night alone, the fifteenth.
Third line, “na narikeri”: keri expresses realization, declaring that autumn is the name of this one night; the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, “onaji kumoi ni”: kumoi is the sky, in the same sky as on other nights.
Fifth line, “tsuki wa sumedomo”: domo is concessive, though the moon is always clear, added afterward by inversion.
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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