Tsuki ni ikade mukashi no koto o katarasete kage ni soitsutsu tachi mo hanareji

月にいかで昔のことを語らせて
影に添ひつつ立ちも離れじ

Roma-ji: Tsuki ni ikade mukashi no koto o katarasete kage ni soitsutsu tachi mo hanareji
English Translation: Somehow I would have
the moon tell me of the past
and all those old days,
and keeping close to its light
never rise and go away.
Meaning: Somehow I would have the moon tell me of the past, and stay close beside its light, never rising to leave.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1505

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten Poems of Reflection"
The third of the ten poems of reflection. He would somehow have the moon, which knew the past, tell of former days, and stay close by its light, never leaving.
Seeing the moon, ever unchanged in the sky, as a teller who knew the past, the poem expresses longing for days gone by. Using the same words as 1496, tachi mo hanare, it shifts the lover's wish never to leave the beloved's side to a nostalgic wish never to leave the moon's light.

First line, “tsuki ni ikade”: ikade means somehow; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “mukashi no koto o”: of times past.
Third line, “katarasete”: se is causative, "having the moon tell."
Fourth line, “kage ni soitsutsu”: kage is moonlight, "keeping close to its light."
Fifth line, “tachi mo hanareji”: ji is negative intention, "I will not rise and leave."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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