Mono omou kokoro no kuma o nogoiutete kumoranu tsuki o miru yoshi mo gana

物思ふ心のくまをのごひうてて
曇らぬ月を見るよしもがな

Roma-ji: Mono omou kokoro no kuma o nogoiutete kumoranu tsuki o miru yoshi mo gana
English Translation: The shadow in this
heart that broods upon its love,
if I could wipe it off
and cast it away, and see
the moon without a cloud!
Meaning: If only there were a way to wipe away and cast off the shadow in my brooding heart, and see the moon unclouded.
Commentary: Love Poems 645

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The moon"
The poet wishes he could wipe away and cast off the shadow in his heart, lost in the brooding of love, and see the moon unclouded. Aware that the moon looks clouded because of the shadow in his own heart, he longs to clear it away.
Following the preceding poem, which lamented clouding the moon from his own heart, this one wishes to wipe the shadow from the heart and see the moon clear, turning the same working of the heart inside out.

First line, “mono omou”: brooding, troubled by love.
Second line, “kokoro no kuma o”: kuma is a shadow or hidden place, associated with the moon.
Third line, “nogoiutete”: nogou is to wipe and utsu to cast away: wiping it clean away.
Fourth line, “kumoranu tsuki o”: the unclouded moon, answering the topic.
Fifth line, “miru yoshi mo gana”: yoshi is a means, and mogana a particle of wishing: if only there were a way to see it.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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