Tsune yori mo tsuyukekarikeru koyoi kana kore ya aki tatsu hajime naruramu - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

常よりも露けかりける今宵かな
これやあきたつはじめなるらむ

Roma-ji: Tsune yori mo tsuyukekarikeru koyoi kana kore ya aki tatsu hajime naruramu
English Translation: More than is usual
how heavy with dew it is,
this night that has come —
could this be the beginning
of autumn, of your weariness
Meaning: Tonight is wetter with dew than ever before; could this be the beginning of autumn — the first sign that you are tiring of me?
Commentary: Book Eight Love Poems II 242

Seeing in a night unusually heavy with dew the first sign of autumn, the poet fears that weariness may be rising in her lover's heart. Overlaying the season of autumn (aki) on love's weariness (aki), she likens the tears that wet her sleeves to dew.

The first line, "tsune yori mo" (more than usual), marks this night as different.
The second line, "tsuyukekarikeru" (heavy with dew), hints at sleeves wet with tears.
The third line, "koyoi kana" (this night), ends with the exclamatory "kana," creating a break after the third line.
The fourth line, "kore ya aki tatsu," poses a question with "ya" and is a pivot word joining the coming of autumn with the lover beginning to tire of her. Poem 217 of Book Seven also plays on autumn and weariness to sing of a changing heart.
The final line, "hajime naruramu," closes "ya" with the attributive "ramu," a kakari-musubi that anxiously asks whether this is the beginning.
Author: The Lady Kii of Princess Yushi's Household
Source: Shika Wakashu
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