秋の夜の月の光のもる山は
木の下かげもさやけかりけり
木の下かげもさやけかりけり
- Roma-ji
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Aki no yo no tsuki no hikari no moru yama wa ko no shitakage mo sayakekarikeri
- English Translation
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On autumn nights
where the moonlight filters down
on Moru Mountain,
even in the shade beneath the trees
all is clear and bright
- Meaning
- On Moru Mountain, where the light of the autumn moon filters through, even the shade beneath the trees is clear and bright.
- Commentary
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Book Three Autumn Poems 99
Headnote: "Composed at the residence of the former Chancellor and Regent"
The author is listed here as an unnumbered poet, but the Shikashu attributes the poem to Fujiwara no Shigemoto. It was composed at the residence of the former Chancellor and Regent, Fujiwara no Tadamichi.
Playing on the place name Moriyama in Ōmi and the sense of moonlight leaking through, the poem praises the purity of the autumn moon that brightens even the dark shade beneath the trees. It is a light, deft poem that makes good use of a pun on a place name.
The first line, "aki no yo no," opens with the same words as the last line of the preceding poem, 98, carrying on the moon poems.
The second line, "tsuki no hikari no," means "the moon's light," the subject of moru in the third line.
In the third line, "moru yama wa," moru is a pivot word joining the place name Moriyama in Ōmi and the moonlight leaking through.
The fourth line, "ko no shitakage mo," means "even the shade beneath the trees," with mo implying even dark places.
The last line, "sayakekarikeri," closes with a note of discovery: how clear and bright it is.
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Arishi ni mo arazu nariyuku yo no naka ni kawaranu mono wa aki no yo no tsuki
- Next Poem
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Amatsukaze kumo fukiharau takane nite iru made mitsuru aki no yo no tsuki