Tatsutayama tsuki sumu mine no kai zo naki fumoto ni kiri no harenu kagiri wa

竜田山月澄む嶺のかひぞなき
麓に霧の晴れぬ限りは

Roma-ji: Tatsutayama tsuki sumu mine no kai zo naki fumoto ni kiri no harenu kagiri wa
English Translation: On Tatsuta Hill,
the clear moon above the peak
is of little worth,
so long as the mist below
at its foot will never clear.
Meaning: On Mount Tatsuta the moon shining clear over the peak is all for nothing, so long as the mist at the foot of the mountain does not lift.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 399

Headnote: "Mist screening the moon"
The topic is mist screening the moon from view. The moon shines clear over the peak of Mount Tatsuta, but as long as the mist at its foot does not lift, it cannot be seen from below, and its shining is in vain. The clear moon on the peak is set against the mist that screens it at the foot.
Kai plays on kai, worth, and kai, a ravine between mountains, linked through Mount Tatsuta. Clouds have so far been what hides the moon, but here mist is what screens it.

First line, “Tatsutayama”: a famous place in Yamato Province, a mountain known for its autumn leaves.
Second line, “tsuki sumu mine no”: of the peak where the moon shines clear.
Third line, “kai zo naki”: kai is a pivot word joining kai, worth, and kai, a ravine; zo is answered by the attributive naki, and the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, “fumoto ni kiri no”: the mist at the mountain's foot.
Fifth line, “harenu kagiri wa”: so long as it does not lift, giving afterward by inversion the reason for the third line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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