Hitori sumu iori ni tsuki no sashikozu wa nani ka yamabe no tomo ni naramashi

ひとり住む庵に月のさし来ずは
何か山辺の友にならまし

Roma-ji: Hitori sumu iori ni tsuki no sashikozu wa nani ka yamabe no tomo ni naramashi
English Translation: If into the hut
where I live alone, the moon
did not come shining,
what could ever be my friend
here among the mountainsides?
Meaning: If the moonlight did not come shining into the hut where I live alone, what could be my friend here in the hills?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 948

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
If the moonlight did not come into the hut where I live alone, what could be my friend in the hills? the poet asks, saying that in his solitary mountain life the moon alone is his companion.

First line, “hitori sumu”: living alone.
Second line, “iori ni tsuki no”: into the hut, the moon.
Third line, “sashikozu wa”: if it did not shine in.
Fourth line, “nani ka yamabe no”: ka is answered by mashi in the fifth line.
Fifth line, “tomo ni naramashi”: mashi is counterfactual; what would be my friend?
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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