天つ風雲吹き払ふ高嶺にて
入るまで見つる秋の夜の月
入るまで見つる秋の夜の月
- Roma-ji
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Amatsukaze kumo fukiharau takane nite iru made mitsuru aki no yo no tsuki
- English Translation
-
Winds of the heavens
sweep away the clouds above
on the lofty peak,
where I gazed until it set:
the moon on an autumn night
- Meaning
- On the high peak where the winds of heaven sweep the clouds away, I watched the autumn moon until it sank from sight.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 100
Headnote: "Composed on seeing the moon when he climbed Mount Hiei for the nenbutsu service"
The monk Ryōzen composed this on seeing the moon when he climbed Mount Hiei to attend the nenbutsu service.
On the cloudless peak of Hiei, he watched the moon until it set in the west. Since this was a place of prayer to Amida, the setting moon also carries thoughts of the Western Paradise. The clear air of the high peak and the purity of the moon become one in this poem.
The first line, "amatsukaze," means "wind of the heavens," tsu being an old case particle.
The second line, "kumo fukiharau," means "sweeping away the clouds," a night sky with nothing to block the moon.
The third line, "takane nite," sets the place: on the high peak of Mount Hiei.
The fourth line, "iru made mitsuru," means "which I watched until it set," tsuru being the attributive form of the auxiliary of completion.
The last line, "aki no yo no tsuki," ends on a noun and is the same as the last line of 98 in this book, so that the unchanging moon and the moon watched to its setting echo each other.
- Author
- Ryōzen
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Aki no yo no tsuki no hikari no moru yama wa ko no shitakage mo sayakekarikeri
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Aki no yo wa tsuki ni kokoro no hima zo naki izuru o matsu to iru o oshimu to