Wata no hara haruka ni nami o hedatekite miyako ni ideshi tsuki o miru ka wa

わたの原はるかに波を隔て来て
都に出でし月を見るかは

Roma-ji: Wata no hara haruka ni nami o hedatekite miyako ni ideshi tsuki o miru ka wa
English Translation: Over the wide sea,
far across so many waves
that now lie between—
is it the moon that rose
over the capital I see?
Meaning: Having come so far across the wide sea, with all those waves between, is it really the moon that rose over the capital that I am looking at now?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1101

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composing poems on travel"
Having crossed the wide sea, far over the waves, is this the same moon that rose over the capital that I now see? the poet asks, recalling the moon over the capital's hills as he watches it rise over the sea.
In the capital he watched the moon rise from the hills; on the sea he watches it rise from the waves. The same moon rising from a different place makes him feel how far he is from the capital. With the next poem it forms a pair comparing the moon at sea with the moon of the capital.

First line, “wata no hara”: the broad expanse of the sea.
Second line, “haruka ni nami o”: far across the waves.
Third line, “hedatekite”: having come with them between.
Fourth line, “miyako ni ideshi”: that rose over the capital; shi is the attributive of the past ki.
Fifth line, “tsuki o miru ka wa”: ka wa questions, "am I seeing that moon?", wonder at seeing the same moon in another place.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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