Aki no no no kusamura goto ni oku tsuyu wa yoru naku mushi no namida narubeshi - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

秋の野の草むらごとに置く露は
夜鳴く虫の涙なるべし

Roma-ji: Aki no no no kusamura goto ni oku tsuyu wa yoru naku mushi no namida narubeshi
English Translation: In the autumn fields
on every clump of grass
the dew that settles
must be the tears of insects
crying through the night
Meaning: The dew that settles on every clump of grass in the autumn fields must be the tears of the insects crying through the night.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 118

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
This is a poem by Sone no Yoshitada. He likens the dew on the grass of the autumn fields to the tears of insects crying at night.
Seeing dew as tears is a traditional conceit in waka, but making them the tears of insects shows a heart that hears their voices as cries of sorrow. With this poem the sequence on insects begins.

The first line, "aki no no no," is the same opening as 113 in this book, setting the scene in the autumn fields. It is the first poem of the insect sequence.
The second line, "kusamura goto ni," means "on every clump of grass."
The third line, "oku tsuyu wa," means "the dew that settles," presenting the theme.
The fourth line, "yoru naku mushi no," means "of insects crying at night," joining the insects' song to weeping.
The last line, "namida narubeshi," conjectures "must be tears," closing with the technique of likening dew to tears.
Author: Sone no Yoshitada
Source: Shika Wakashu
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