Chihayaburu Mitarashigawa no soko kiyomi nodoka ni tsuki no kage wa sumikeri

ちはやぶる御手洗川の底清み
のどかに月の影は澄みけり

Roma-ji: Chihayaburu Mitarashigawa no soko kiyomi nodoka ni tsuki no kage wa sumikeri
English Translation: Mighty are the gods,
and in the river Mitarashi
so clear to its bed
the moon serenely shining
casts its light pure and still.
Meaning: The sacred Mitarashi River is so clear to its bed that the light of the moon shines in it, calm and serene.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 622

Headnote: "The moon by the river"
Because the Mitarashi River at the Kamo shrine is clear to its bed, the moonlight shines in it calm and pure. The clarity of the sacred river and the gentle moon become one in a quiet poem of celebration.
The Ruijū text places it in its section of celebration. Kamo no Mabuchi objected that chihayaburu properly describes fierce gods and should not be put before every god, still less the gods of Ise. The source as displayed also shows the word kiyoku in line 4; it is here read nodoka ni tsuki no.

Line 1, chihayaburu, is a pillow word for "god," here leading to the sacred river. Following the Mimosuso River of 616, it sings of the purity of a sacred river with the moon.
Line 2 names the Mitarashi River, where worshippers purify their hands, here at the Kamo shrine.
Line 3 means "since the bed is clear," the same as line 3 of 616 of this book.
Line 4 means "serenely, the moon's."
Line 5 means "its light is clear," keri exclamatory.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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