いさぎよき空の気色を頼むかな
我惑はすな秋の夜の月
我惑はすな秋の夜の月
- Roma-ji
-
Isagiyoki sora no keshiki o tanomu kana ware madowasu na aki no yo no tsuki
- English Translation
-
On the spotless pure
state of the sky above me
it is I rely,
do not let me go astray,
O moon of the autumn night
- Meaning
- I place my trust in the clear and spotless sky; do not lead me astray, O moon of the autumn night.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 628
The poet places his trust in the clear, spotless sky and asks the autumn moon not to lead him astray. In the cloudless moon of an autumn night he sees the Buddha's teaching that lights up delusion, and expresses his wish that it light his way to enlightenment.
Poem 580 in Book Nine also closes by calling to the moon of the autumn night, asking to be taken along as it sets in the west. In this book too, poems that take the moon as a guide on the Buddhist path follow in 630 and 631.
The author, Gyōson, was a son of the Consultant Minamoto no Motohira and, as a monk of Onjōji, rose to Archbishop. He is also known for his ascetic practice at sacred mountains throughout the provinces. One of his poems appears in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
First line, 'isagiyoki', means pure and clear.
Second line, 'sora no keshiki o', means the state of the sky.
Third line, 'tanomu kana', means I rely on it, closing with kana; the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, 'ware madowasu na', means do not lead me astray, the particle na expressing prohibition; the poem breaks here.
Final line, 'aki no yo no tsuki', means O moon of the autumn night, an address closing on a noun. It is the same as the final line of 580 in Book Nine.
- Author
- Gyōson
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Mishi mama ni ware wa satori o eteshikaba shirasede toru to shirazarame ya wa
- Next Poem
-
Kokoro ni wa itoi hatetsu to omouramu aware izuku mo onaji ukiyo o