Tsuki nomi ya uwa no sora naru katami nite omoi mo ideba kokoro kayowan

月のみやうはのそらなる形見にて
思ひも出でば心通はん

Roma-ji: Tsuki nomi ya uwa no sora naru katami nite omoi mo ideba kokoro kayowan
English Translation: Only the moon, then,
up in the sky, an uncertain
keepsake between us;
yet if it brings me to mind,
our hearts will surely meet.
Meaning: Only the moon, hanging in the sky above, is a keepsake hardly to be relied on, yet if it makes you think of me, our hearts will meet through it.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 727

Headnote: "Sent in the season of the moon to someone in the capital while I was shut away in a distant place"
While living in seclusion far away, the poet sent this in the season of the bright moon to someone in the capital. The only bond between them is the moon in the sky, an uncertain keepsake, yet if the other looks at it and remembers him, their hearts will meet. He seeks to share his heart with someone far away by gazing at the same moon.

First line, “tsuki nomi ya”: nomi limits, the moon alone; ya is an exclamatory particle.
Second line, “uwa no sora naru”: joining being up in the sky with being unreliable or absent-minded.
Third line, “katami nite”: being a keepsake.
Fourth line, “omoi mo ideba”: ba is conditional, if you think of me.
Fifth line, “kokoro kayowan”: n is conjectural, our hearts will meet.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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