Nakanaka ni tokidoki kumo no kakaru koso tsuki o motenasu kazari narikere

なかなかに時々雲のかかるこそ
月をもてなす飾りなりけれ

Roma-ji: Nakanaka ni tokidoki kumo no kakaru koso tsuki o motenasu kazari narikere
English Translation: Rather, as it is,
clouds that now and then drift by,
crossing over it,
are an ornament that serves
to show off the moon the more.
Meaning: On the contrary, it is the clouds that now and then drift across it that serve as an ornament to set off the moon.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 361

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When I composed many poems on the moon"
This is the twenty-fifth poem in the moon series. One tends to think the moon is best with no clouds at all, but on the contrary, clouds that cross it now and then are the very ornament that sets off its beauty. The clouds, so resented until now, are seen anew as something that makes the moon more beautiful.
Reversing the heart that lamented, as in 310, if only there were no clouds, this poem recognizes their worth. 370 also begins with nakanaka ni and says that the moon on a night that seems to cloud and then clears shines all the brighter, so the idea of clouds setting off the moon is repeated.

First line, “nakanaka ni”: on the contrary, rather, showing the opposite of the usual view.
Second line, “tokidoki kumo no”: clouds now and then.
Third line, “kakaru koso”: their crossing the moon, with koso forming a kakari-musubi with the perfective kere in the last line.
Fourth line, “tsuki o motenasu”: motenasu means to treat with care or set off.
Fifth line, “kazari narikere”: the perfective form answering koso, the realization that they are an ornament making the moon lovelier.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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