Itou yo mo tsuki sumu aki ni narinureba nagaraezu wa to omou naru kana

厭ふ世も月澄む秋になりぬれば
ながらへずはと思ふなるかな

Roma-ji: Itou yo mo tsuki sumu aki ni narinureba nagaraezu wa to omou naru kana
English Translation: Even in a world
I despise, when autumn comes
with its moon so clear,
had I not lived on, I think,
I would not have seen this sight.
Meaning: Even in this world I have come to loathe, now that autumn has come with its clear moon, I find myself thinking: had I not lived on, I would never have seen it.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 403

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing my feelings through the moon"
This is the third poem in the series expressing thoughts through the moon. Even in this world the poet loathed and meant to leave behind, when autumn comes with its clear moon he finds himself thinking that, had he not lived on, he could not have seen this moon. He speaks of a heart wavering between loathing the world and being glad to be alive to see so lovely a moon.
Where the preceding poem spoke of a heart that had lost hope in the world, this one finds through the moon a meaning in living in this world. It also echoes 333, in which life grows dear in the wish to live until next year's harvest moon.

First line, “itou yo mo”: itou is to loathe, even in this world I loathe.
Second line, “tsuki sumu aki ni”: to the autumn when the moon shines clear.
Third line, “narinureba”: since it has come, the perfective form with ba.
Fourth line, “nagaraezu wa to”: if I had not lived on; zu wa expresses a negative supposition.
Fifth line, “omou naru kana”: I find myself thinking, closing with kana.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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