あだ人はしぐるる夜半の月なれや
すむとてえこそ頼むまじけれ
すむとてえこそ頼むまじけれ
- Roma-ji
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Adabito wa shigururu yowa no tsuki nare ya sumu tote e koso tanomu majikere
- English Translation
-
A fickle lover
is the moon on a night
of drizzling showers —
though it shines clear and stays a while,
never can it be relied on
- Meaning
- Is a fickle lover the moon on a showery night? Though it shines clear — though he comes to stay — it can never be relied upon.
- Commentary
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Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 314
The poet likens a fickle lover to the moon on a night of showers. Just as the moon on such a night may look clear but soon hides behind clouds, a man who says he will come and stay cannot be trusted; playing "sumu" as both shining clear and dwelling, she exposes his inconstancy.
Taking up the showers of the preceding poem, 313, it overlays the moon on a showery night with the unreliability of the heart.
The first line, "adabito wa" (a fickle one), singles out a faithless person with "wa."
The second line, "shigururu yowa no," refers to a night of showers, using the same "shigururu" as the preceding poem.
The third line, "tsuki nare ya," adds "ya" to the perfective "nare": is it because he is the moon? A break falls after the third line.
The fourth line, "sumu tote e koso," is a pivot word joining the moon "shining clear" and a man "coming to dwell," with the adverb "e" answering the negative of the final line.
The final line, "tanomu majikere," closes "koso" with the perfective of the negative conjectural "maji," a kakari-musubi: he can never be relied upon.
- Author
- Taikenmon-in no Horikawa
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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