Hito mo minu yoshi naki yama no sue made ni sumuran tsuki no kage o koso omoe

人も見ぬよしなき山の末までに
澄むらん月の影をこそ思へ

Roma-ji: Hito mo minu yoshi naki yama no sue made ni sumuran tsuki no kage o koso omoe
English Translation: Where no one may see,
to the far ends of hills
of no name or note,
I think of how its light shines,
the moon clear above it all.
Meaning: I think of the moon's light shining clear even to the far reaches of nameless mountains where no one is there to see it.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 344

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When I composed many poems on the moon"
This is the eighth poem in the moon series. To the far ends of deep mountains where no one sees and no one has any ties, the moon must be shining its clear light without distinction, and the poet thinks of it. He feels deeply for the moon that shines without seeking to be seen.
From the moon over nearby places such as moors and gardens in the poems before, the thought widens here to the moon over the far ends of mountains no one visits. Like 327, where the heart is lured far away by the moonlight, the poet's heart travels through the moon to distant places.

First line, “hito mo minu”: unseen by anyone.
Second line, “yoshi naki yama no”: yoshinashi means without ties or of no account, of mountains no one cares for.
Third line, “sue made ni”: even to their farthest depths.
Fourth line, “sumuran tsuki no”: ran is the attributive of present conjecture, of the moon that must be shining clear.
Fifth line, “kage o koso omoe”: koso is answered by the perfective omoe, stressing that it is that moonlight the poet thinks of.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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