Hikari oba kumoranu tsuki zo migakikeru inaba ni kakaru asahiko no tama

光をば曇らぬ月ぞ磨きける
稲葉にかかる朝日子の玉

Roma-ji: Hikari oba kumoranu tsuki zo migakikeru inaba ni kakaru asahiko no tama
English Translation: It was the moon that
shone without a cloud that
polished that bright light,
the jewels on the rice leaves
gleaming in the morning sun.
Meaning: It was the cloudless moon that polished its light, the dewdrop jewels on the rice leaves gleaming in the morning sun.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 969

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The dewdrop jewels on the rice leaves, gleaming in the morning sun, had their light polished by the cloudless moon through the night, the poet says, imagining the dew's morning brilliance as the work of the moonlight.

First line, “hikari oba”: its light.
Second line, “kumoranu tsuki zo”: the cloudless moon; zo is answered by keru in the third line.
Third line, “migakikeru”: polished it; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “inaba ni kakaru”: hanging on the rice leaves.
Fifth line, “asahiko no tama”: asahiko is the morning sun; the dew jewels shining in it, inverted to stand as owner of the light in the first line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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