Ikade ware kokoro no kumo ni chiri suede miru kai arite tsuki o nagamen

いかで我心の雲に塵据ゑで
見るかひありて月を眺めん

Roma-ji: Ikade ware kokoro no kumo ni chiri suede miru kai arite tsuki o nagamen
English Translation: How might I keep
the clouds within my heart
free from settling dust,
so that it is worth the gaze
when I look upon the moon?
Meaning: How might I keep dust from settling on the clouds within my heart, so that gazing at the moon would truly be worthwhile?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1405

Headnote: none
How might he keep dust from settling on the clouds of his heart, so that gazing at the moon would be worthwhile? the poet asks.
The moon stands for Buddhist enlightenment, and the worldly passions clouding it are likened to clouds and dust. Only by purifying the heart is the moon worth seeing, a thought of the Buddhist path. Poems of reflection on the moon follow. The text reads chiri suete, which, supplying the voiced mark, is read chiri suede, "without letting dust settle."

First line, “ikade ware”: ikade means "somehow."
Second line, “kokoro no kumo ni”: on the clouds of passion in my heart.
Third line, “chiri suede”: not letting dust settle, reading the text's suete with a voiced mark.
Fourth line, “miru kai arite”: so that seeing is worthwhile; the line has an extra syllable.
Fifth line, “tsuki o nagamen”: n is volitional, "I would gaze at the moon."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Shikiwatasu tsuki no kōri o utagaite hibi no te mawaru aji no muradori
Next Poem: Nagameorite tsuki no kage ni zo yo o ba miru sumu mo sumanu mo sa narikeri to wa