Shirotae no koromo kasanuru tsukikage no sayuru masode ni kakaru shiratsuyu

白妙の衣重ぬる月影の
冴ゆる真袖にかかる白露

Roma-ji: Shirotae no koromo kasanuru tsukikage no sayuru masode ni kakaru shiratsuyu
English Translation: Like white mulberry robes
layered one upon the other,
the moonlight lies cold
on both my sleeves, and on them
there has fallen the white dew.
Meaning: On both my sleeves, where the moonlight lies cold as though layering them with white robes, the white dew has fallen.
Commentary: Love Poems 630

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The moon"
On both sleeves, where the moonlight falls cold and white as though layering them with white robes, white dew has settled. The dew carries the tears of love, and the poem draws a chill scene of sleeping alone, where the whiteness of the moonlight and the whiteness of the dew overlap.

First line, “shirotae no”: white cloth, a pillow word leading to koromo, robe.
Second line, “koromo kasanuru”: layering robes, the moonlight lying white upon the sleeves.
Third line, “tsukikage no”: of the moonlight, answering the topic.
Fourth line, “sayuru masode ni”: sayu is to be cold, and masode means both sleeves.
Fifth line, “kakaru shiratsuyu”: shiratsuyu is shining white dew, carrying the tears of love; the poem ends on a noun.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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