澄みのぼる心や空を払ふらむ
雲の塵ゐぬ秋の夜の月
雲の塵ゐぬ秋の夜の月
- Roma-ji
-
Suminoboru kokoro ya sora o harauramu kumo no chiri inu aki no yo no tsuki
- English Translation
-
Can it be my heart,
rising clear, that sweeps the sky
free of everything,
for no dust of cloud remains
round the moon this autumn night
- Meaning
- Is it my heart, rising ever clearer, that has swept the sky clean? Not a speck of cloud-dust mars the moon on this autumn night.
- Commentary
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Book Three Autumn Poems 188
Has his own heart, growing ever clearer as he gazes at the moon, swept the sky clean? Not a speck of cloud-dust remains around the autumn night's moon. The poem grasps the clarity of the viewer's heart and the clarity of the sky as one.
Likening clouds to dust is a fresh conceit worthy of the compiler-author. In poem 206 in this book too, he sings of clouds wiping away the moon's blemish.
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, Toshiyori, is Minamoto no Toshiyori. A son of Minamoto no Tsunenobu, he compiled this anthology, the Kin'yōwakashū, at the command of Retired Emperor Shirakawa, and is known for his innovative style.
First line, 'suminoboru', means rising and growing clear, the viewer's heart becoming pure.
Second line, 'kokoro ya sora o', means is it my heart that the sky, and the particle ya binds with ramu in the third line.
Third line, 'harauramu', means is it sweeping it clean, ramu conjecturing the cause. The poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, 'kumo no chiri inu', means with no dust of cloud, likening clouds to dust in the sky, an associated word with 'sweep' in the third line.
Final line, 'aki no yo no tsuki', ends on a noun, the same final line as poem 177 in this book.
- Author
- Minamoto no Toshiyori
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Kumo no nami kakaranu sayo no tsukikage o kiyotakigawa ni utsushite zo miru
- Next Poem
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Tsuki o mite omou kokoro no mama naraba yukue mo shirazu akugarenamashi