When he presented a fifty-poem sequence.
たづねきて花にくらせる木のまよりまつとしもなき山のはの月
| tazunekite hana ni kuraseru ko no ma yori matsu to shimo naki yama no ha no tsuki | I came searching Blossom all day long Between the trees, when Though I’d not awaited it, saw The moon upon the mountains’ edge. |
Fujiwara no Masatsune
万代に見るともあかじ長月の有明の月のあらむかぎりは
| yorozuyo ni miru to mo akaji nagatsuki no ariake no tsuki no aramu kagiri wa | Even for ten thousand ages Should I gaze, I’d ne’er get my fill Of the Longest Month’s Dawntime moon, as long as ‘Twas there![i] |
673
[i] See: 万代 見友将飽八 三芳野乃 多芸都河内之 大宮所 yorozuyo ni / mitomo akame ya / miyoshino no / tagitsu kōchi no / ōmiyadokoro ‘Though for a myriad reigns / I gaze, I’ll ne’er be full / Of Yoshino’s / Seething river shore, / The mighty palace site.’ Kasa no Kanamura (Man’yōshū VI: 921); and: Topic unknown. 長月の在明の月の有りつつも君しきまさば我こひめやも nagatsuki no / ariake no tsuki no / aritsutsu mo / kimi shi kimasaba / ware koime ya mo ‘The Longest Month’s / Dawntime moon— / Ever a time for parting, but / Had you come to visit, then / How I would yearn for you then!’ Hitomaro (Shūishū XIII: 795)
The summer moon above a shrine.[i]
ながむれば吹く風すずしみわの山杉の木ずゑをいづる月影
| nagamureba fuku kaze suzushi miwa no yama sugi no kozue o izuru tsukikage | While I was staring into space, How cool the gusting breeze, as Above Mount Miwa’s Cedar treetops Emerges the moon…[ii] |
634
[i] As with poem 631, the topic here, ‘The summer moon above the shrine’ (shatō kagetsu 社頭夏月) was generally used when the poet had a specific shrine in mind—in this case, Ōmiwa Shrine (Ōmiwa jinja 大神神社).
[ii] See: As part of a hundred-poem sequence. ながむれば衣手すゞしひさかたのあまのかはらの秋のゆふぐれ nagamureba / koromode suzushi / hisakata no / ama no kawara no / aki no yūgure ‘While I was staring into space, / How chill my sleeves became; / Upon eternal / Heaven’s riverbed / Comes an autumn evening.’ Princess Shokushi (Shinkokinshū IV: 321)
The moon above the shrine.[i]
月のすむ北野のみやの小松原いく代をかけて神さびにけん
| tsuki no sumu kitano no miya no komatsubara ikuyo o kakete kamisabiniken | So clear the moon above Kitano Shrine’s[ii] Dwarf pine groves— Through how many ages Might they have been venerated?[iii] |
631
[i] The topic here, ‘the moon over the shrine’ (shatō no tsuki 社頭月) was a standard one which could be applied to any poem on this theme, but poets usually had a specific shrine in mind when using it—that is, their poems were intended to describe a specific scene rather than a generic one. Sometimes the context would be supplied by the time and place in which the poem was composed: for example, this is one of the topics used in the Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen (‘Sumiyoshi Shrine Poetry Match – Kaō 2’) held in 1170, so all the poems on it can be understood as describing the moon over Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine. Alternatively, the poet could refer to the shrine in the poem itself, as Sanetomo does here.
[ii] This is Kitano Tenmangū 北野天満宮 in the north of Kyoto, dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane 菅原道真 (845-903), as the deity of learning, Tenman Tenjin 天満天神.
[iii] See: 和我伊能知乎 奈我刀能之麻能 小松原 伊久与乎倍弖加 可武佐備和多流 wa ga inochi / nagato no shima no / komatsubara / ikuyo o hete ka / kamusabiwataru ‘My life! / Upon the isle of Nagato / The dwarf pine groves / Have through how many ages passed? / Ever venerable…’ (Man’yōshū XV: 3621)
The moon above the riverside.[i]
千はやぶるみたらし川の底きよみのどかに月の影はすみけり
| chihayaburu mitarashigawa no soko kiyomi nodoka ni tsuki no kage wa sumikeri | The mighty Mitarashi River has A bed so pure— Tranquil, the moon’s Light shines clear.[ii] |
625
[i] Even though it is not specified in the headnote, the poem makes it clear that Sanetomo is referring to a specific river, the Mitarashi here.
[ii] This poem shows influence from Shinkokinshū XIX: 1889, and also: Topic unknown. まこもかる淀のさは水ふかけれどそこまで月の影はすみけり makomo karu / yodo no sawamizu / fukakeredo / soko made tsuki no / kage wa sumikeri ‘Reaping wild rice / In the Yodo’s marsh-waters, / So deep, yet / Right down to the bed, the moon’s / Light is clear.’ Former Major Counsellor Masafusa (Shinkokinshū III: 229)
