Kumo kiyuru Nachi no takane ni tsuki takete hikari o nukeru taki no shiraito

雲消ゆる那智の高嶺に月たけて
光を貫ける滝の白糸

Roma-ji: Kumo kiyuru Nachi no takane ni tsuki takete hikari o nukeru taki no shiraito
English Translation: With the clouds all gone,
on the high peaks of Nachi
the moon rises full,
and its light is strung along
the waterfall's white threads.
Meaning: With the clouds gone, the moon rides high above the peaks of Nachi, and the white threads of the falls string its light like jewels.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 382

Headnote: "The moon lighting a waterfall"
The topic is the moon shining on a waterfall. On the lofty peaks of Nachi in Kii, cleared of cloud, the moon climbs high, and the falls in its light shine white as though threading the moonlight like jewels on a string. Likening the falling water to white thread and the moonlight to jewels, the poem paints the splendid night scene of the Nachi falls.
The figure of threading moonlight echoes 316, where the moonlight threads the jewels of dew; here the roles of thread and jewel are exchanged, the falls being the thread and the moonlight the jewels.

First line, “kumo kiyuru”: the clouds vanishing and the sky clearing, modifying takane in the second line.
Second line, “Nachi no takane ni”: on the high peaks of Nachi in Kii, the mountain of the Nachi falls.
Third line, “tsuki takete”: taku is to climb high, the moon having risen high in the sky.
Fourth line, “hikari o nukeru”: ru is the attributive of the continuative ri, threading the moonlight through like jewels.
Fifth line, “taki no shiraito”: ending on a noun, the falling water that looks like white thread.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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