葦根はひかつみも茂き沼水に
わりなく宿る夜半の月かな
わりなく宿る夜半の月かな
- Roma-ji
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Ashine hai katsumi mo shigeki numamizu ni warinaku yadoru yowa no tsuki kana
- English Translation
-
Where the reed roots creep
and the katsumi grows so thick
in the marshy pool,
still it lodges there somehow,
the moon of the midnight hour
- Meaning
- In the marsh water where reed roots creep and katsumi grass grows thick, the midnight moon somehow still finds a place to be reflected.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 195
Even in a marsh so overgrown with creeping reed roots and thick katsumi grass that the surface can barely be seen, the midnight moon somehow manages to be reflected. The poem depicts the moon's persistence in dwelling even in a scrap of water and the brightness that reaches everywhere.
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, Tadamichi, is Fujiwara no Tadamichi. A son of Fujiwara no Tadazane, he rose to Regent and Chancellor and was called the Hosshōji Regent. He also excelled in Chinese verse and calligraphy.
First line, 'ashine hai', means reed roots creeping, the reeds growing densely at the water's edge.
Second line, 'katsumi mo shigeki', uses katsumi, a waterside grass: it too grows thick.
Third line, 'numamizu ni', means in the marsh water, the surface barely visible through the plants.
Fourth line, 'warinaku yadoru', uses warinashi, unreasonably, against all odds: it is reflected nonetheless.
Final line, 'yowa no tsuki kana', means ah, the midnight moon, with the exclamatory kana.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tadamichi
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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Yamanoha ni kumo no koromo o nugisutete hitori mo tsuki no tachinoboru kana
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Kagamiyama mine yori izuru tsuki nareba kumoru yo mo naki kage o koso mire