かきくらし雨降る夜半やいかならむ
月と雪とはかひなかりけり
月と雪とはかひなかりけり
- Roma-ji
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Kakikurashi ame furu yowa ya ika naramu tsuki to yuki to wa kai nakarikeri
- English Translation
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When it darkens all
and rain falls in the night,
how will it be then?
The moon and the snow alike
were all to no avail
- Meaning
- How will it be on a night when the sky darkens and rain falls? Both moonlit nights and snowy nights were all in vain.
- Commentary
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Book Four Winter Poems 293
Even moonlit nights and snowy nights were in vain, so how will it be on a night when the sky darkens and rain falls? The lament that even on beautiful nights of moon and snow things did not go as wished is deepened by surmising about a night of rain. What was in vain is not stated in the poem itself.
Poems 277 through 293 in this book center on snow, with poems on falconry set among them at 281 through 283.
First line, 'kakikurashi', means darkening all the sky, rain clouds covering the heavens.
Second line, 'ame furu yowa ya', means on a night when rain falls, ya binding with the attributive ramu in the third line.
Third line, 'ika naramu', means how will it be. The poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, 'tsuki to yuki to wa', means moonlit nights and snowy nights, naming bright and beautiful nights.
Final line, 'kai nakarikeri', means were to no avail, closing with the exclamatory keri.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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