世の中を思ひな入りそ三笠山
さし出づる月の澄まむ限りは
さし出づる月の澄まむ限りは
- Roma-ji
-
Yo no naka o omoi na iri so Mikasayama sashiizuru tsuki no sumamu kagiri wa
- English Translation
-
Do not brood so deep
on the ways of this world, while
above Mount Mikasa
the moon that rises up shines
clear and bright as it does now
- Meaning
- Do not brood so deeply over this world, so long as the moon rising over Mount Mikasa shines clear.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 291
The poet counsels not to sink too deeply into worry over the world, so long as the moon rising over Mount Mikasa shines clear. Mount Mikasa is the mountain of the Kasuga Shrine, and the words "as long as the moon shines clear" carry encouragement that there is still something to rely on.
Poems 306 and 335 of this book also sing of Mount Mikasa.
The first line, "yo no naka o" (this world), refers to worldly affairs.
The second line, "omoi na iri so," uses the prohibitive construction "na ... so": do not brood deeply, with a break after the second line.
The third line, "Mikasayama," names a poetic place in Yamato Province known as the mountain of the Kasuga Shrine.
The fourth line, "sashiizuru tsuki no," refers to the moon rising over the ridge.
The final line, "sumamu kagiri wa," uses the attributive conjectural "mu": as long as the moon shines clear, giving by inversion the condition for the prohibition of the second line.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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