Koyoi kimi shide no yamaji no tsuki o mite kumo no ue o ya omoiizuran

今宵君死出の山路の月を見て
雲の上をや思ひ出づらん

Roma-ji: Koyoi kimi shide no yamaji no tsuki o mite kumo no ue o ya omoiizuran
English Translation: Tonight, my lord, you
on the mountain path of death
gazing at the moon,
upon the palace above
the clouds, do you now look back?
Meaning: Tonight, my lord, as you gaze upon the moon on the mountain path of death, do you think back on the palace above the clouds?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 792

Headnote: "Toward the end of the fifty days, I accompanied someone holding a Buddhist service at the tomb of Retired Emperor Nijō, and the moon was bright and moving"
As the fifty days after Retired Emperor Nijō's death drew to a close, the poet accompanied someone holding a memorial service at his tomb, and since the moon was bright and moving, composed this. Tonight, does the late emperor gaze at this same moon on the mountain path of death and think back on the palace? he asks, imagining the heart of the departed.

First line, “koyoi kimi”: kimi is the late Retired Emperor Nijō.
Second line, “shide no yamaji no”: on the mountain path the dead must cross.
Third line, “tsuki o mite”: gazing at the moon, taking up the bright moon of the headnote.
Fourth line, “kumo no ue o ya”: kumo no ue, above the clouds, is the palace, linked to the moon; ya is answered by ran in the fifth line.
Fifth line, “omoiizuran”: ran is conjecture about the present, does he think back on it?
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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