秋はなほ残り多かる年なれど
今宵の月の名こそ惜しけれ
今宵の月の名こそ惜しけれ
- Roma-ji
-
Aki wa nao nokori ōkaru toshi naredo koyoi no tsuki no na koso oshikere
- English Translation
-
Though autumn this year
still has many days to come
before it is done,
it is the name of tonight's moon
that I am loath to let go
- Meaning
- Though much of autumn still remains this year, it is the name of tonight's moon, the bright moon, that I am sorry to lose.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 186
Many autumn days still remain, the poet says, yet only tonight's moon is called the bright moon, and so he regrets the passing of that name. However long autumn lasts, the special night of the fifteenth comes only once, and he mourns that.
From poem 174 through poem 217 in this book a long sequence of moon poems follows, from the evening moon through the bright moon of the fifteenth night of the Eighth Month to the moon at dawn, singing of the moon in all its aspects and of the heart that gazes on it.
The author, Kinzane, is Fujiwara no Kinzane. A son of Fujiwara no Sanesue, he rose to Provisional Major Counselor and also served as Master of the Crown Prince's Household. He was an active poet in the circle of Emperor Horikawa.
First line, 'aki wa nao', means autumn still.
Second line, 'nokori ōkaru', means with much remaining, the many autumn days still to come.
Third line, 'toshi naredo', means though it is such a year, a concession turning to the regret of the lower half.
Fourth line, 'koyoi no tsuki no', is tonight's moon, the bright moon of the fifteenth night of the Eighth Month.
Final line, 'na koso oshikere', means it is the name I regret, a binding in which koso closes on the realis kere, lamenting that the title of bright moon belongs to this night alone.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Kinzane
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Sayakesa wa omoinashi ka to tsukikage o koyoi to shiranu hito ni towabaya
- Next Poem
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Kumo no nami kakaranu sayo no tsukikage o kiyotakigawa ni utsushite zo miru