Kage saete makoto ni tsuki no akaki yo wa kokoro mo sora ni ukarete zo sumu

影冴えてまことに月の明き夜は
心も空に浮かれてぞすむ

Roma-ji: Kage saete makoto ni tsuki no akaki yo wa kokoro mo sora ni ukarete zo sumu
English Translation: On a night so bright,
with the moon's cold shining light
clear in very truth,
even my heart drifts away,
dwelling, shining in the sky.
Meaning: On a night when the light is cold and clear and the moon is truly bright, even my heart drifts off into the sky, dwelling there and growing clear.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 365

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When I composed many poems on the moon"
This is the twenty-ninth poem in the moon series. On a night when the light is cold and clear and the moon is truly bright, even the poet's heart drifts off into the sky, settles in the sky where the moon is, and grows pure and clear. It portrays a heart captivated by the moon's brightness, leaving the body to wander in the sky.
Sumu plays on sumu, to dwell, and sumu, to be clear. Like kokoro ukareshi in 349, it sings of the heart drawn out by the moon, and it also echoes 353, in which the heart grows clearer and clearer before the moon.

First line, “kage saete”: kage is moonlight and saeru to be cold and clear.
Second line, “makoto ni tsuki no”: truly, the moon.
Third line, “akaki yo wa”: on a bright night, singled out by wa.
Fourth line, “kokoro mo sora ni”: even my heart into the sky, with a hint of being absent-minded.
Fifth line, “ukarete zo sumu”: sumu is a pivot word joining sumu, to dwell in the sky, and sumu, for the heart to grow clear; the attributive answers zo.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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