Mushi no ne ni kareyuku nobe no kusamura ni aware o soete sumeru tsukikage

虫の音に枯れゆく野辺の草むらに
あはれを添へて澄める月影

Roma-ji: Mushi no ne ni kareyuku nobe no kusamura ni aware o soete sumeru tsukikage
English Translation: With the insects' cries,
on the clumps of withering grass
across the wide moor,
adding to the sorrow there,
shines the clear light of the moon.
Meaning: Amid the insects' cries, on the withering clumps of grass across the moor, the moonlight shines clear, adding yet more to the sadness of things.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 343

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When I composed many poems on the moon"
This is the seventh poem in the moon series. Amid the crying of insects, on the grass of the moor slowly withering, the moonlight shines clear, adding still deeper aware. Layering the images of late autumn, insect voices, withering grass and clear moonlight, the poem paints the deepening of the season.
Following the preceding poem's claim that autumn's charm lies in the moon, this one shows how the moon deepens still further the aware of the insects' voices and the withering grass.

First line, “mushi no ne ni”: amid the cries of insects.
Second line, “kareyuku nobe no”: of the moor slowly withering, the look of the fields in late autumn.
Third line, “kusamura ni”: on the clumps of grass.
Fourth line, “aware o soete”: adding further feeling, the moonlight joining the aware already present in the insects' voices and the dying grass.
Fifth line, “sumeru tsukikage”: ending on a noun, with ru the attributive of the continuative ri, the moon shining with clear light.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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