待つほどに夏の夜いたく更けぬれば
惜しみもあへぬ山の端の月
惜しみもあへぬ山の端の月
- Roma-ji
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Matsu hodo ni natsu no yo itaku fukenureba oshimi mo aenu yama no ha no tsuki
- English Translation
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While I waited on,
the summer night grew late,
so deep was its hour
that I scarcely could regret it—
the moon upon the ridge.
- Meaning
- While I waited, the summer night grew so late that I hardly had time to lament it before it was gone—the moon on the mountain's rim.
- Commentary
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Book Two Summer Poems 77
The poem expresses the brevity of the summer night: the night grows late while one waits for the moon to rise, and when it finally appears, dawn comes before one can even savor it.
After the poems on seeking the cool, a summer moon appears here. It also echoes poem 61, with its sleepless night of waiting, in its theme of waiting through a short summer night.
First line, "while I waited," refers to the time spent awaiting the moonrise.
Second line uses itaku, "deeply" or "utterly."
Third line is a causal clause giving the reason for what follows.
Fourth line uses au, "to manage fully," with the negative nu, meaning there is no time to regret the moon enough.
Fifth line ends on a noun, leaving a lingering resonance.
- Author
- Minamoto no Michinari
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Somagawa no ikada no toko no ukimakura natsu wa suzushiki fushi to narikeri
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