The moon in winter—the late Major Counsellor[i] had me compose it one year, as a poem for Kitano.[ii]

秋の色にみだれし露の影よりも枯野の霜にすめるよの月

aki no iro ni midareshi tsuyu no kage yori mo kareno no shimo ni sumeru yo no tsuki

The hues of autumn, Confused within the dewdrops Are bettered by A withered, frosty field, where rests The moon upon a night so clear.[iii]

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[i] Her husband, Minamoto no Michitomo 源通具 (1171-1227).

[ii] Probably meaning she composed this for a poetry match or meet which was due to be held at the Kitano Tenmangū 北野天満宮 shrine in the north of the capital.

[iii] See: The cold, clear moon above the grasses. はなにおく露にやどりし影よりもかれのの月はあはれなりけり hana ni oku / tsuyu ni yadorishi / kage yori mo / kareno no tsuki wa / aware narikeri ‘Fallen on the flowers / The lodging dewdrops / Sight  is bettered by / The moon above a withered field: / ‘Tis more moving by far.’ Saigyō (Gyokuyōshū VI: 903)