Hanaretaru shirara no hama no oki no ishi o kudakade arau tsuki no shiranami

離れたる白良の浜の沖の石を
砕かで洗ふ月の白波

Roma-ji: Hanaretaru shirara no hama no oki no ishi o kudakade arau tsuki no shiranami
English Translation: Far off from the shore,
on Shirara's sandy beach,
the stones out at sea—
without breaking, they wash them,
the white waves beneath the moon.
Meaning: The stones that stand apart off the white beach of Shirara are washed, without breaking, by the white waves under the moon.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1476

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten Poems on the Moon"
The fourth of the ten poems on the moon. The white waves lit by the moon wash quietly, without breaking, over the stones that stand apart off the beach of Shirara.
Shirara Beach was a famed poetic place in Kii, known for its white sands. Repeating the white of Shirara and of the white waves, it heightens the whiteness of beach and waves under the moon. By making the waves wash gently rather than crash, it depicts the calm sea of a moonlit night.

First line, “hanaretaru”: standing apart from the shore.
Second line, “shirara no hama no”: of Shirara Beach, a poetic place in Kii, evoking white sands.
Third line, “oki no ishi o”: the stones standing out at sea; the line has an extra syllable.
Fourth line, “kudakade arau”: de is a negative conjunctive, "washing without breaking."
Fifth line, “tsuki no shiranami”: waves white in the moonlight, repeating the white of Shirara; ending on a noun.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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