In this short video, I discuss the images and emotions used in the poems on the topic of ‘The Moon at Dawn’.
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
かねの音におどろかされてにしへ行く月の光をながめつるかな
kane no oto ni
odorokasarete
nishi e yuku
tsuki no hikari o
nagametsuru kana | The sound of bells
Startled me as upon
The westward drifting
Moon’s light
I turned my gaze! |
Daishin
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
有明の月の光をともにしてまだふみなれぬ山路にぞいる
ariake no
tsuki no hikari o
tomo ni shite
mada fuminarenu
yamaji ni zo iru | At dawn
The moon’s light
Does keep me company
On yet untrodden
Mountain paths upon my way. |
Higo
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
いはま行くいさらを川のせはしきにわれてやどれる有明の月
iwama yuku
isaraogawa no
sewashiki ni
warete yadoreru
ariake no tsuki | Rushing through the rocks,
The rivulet runs
So fast that
It splits the resting
Dawntime moon… |
Kanemasa
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
なが月の廿日の月ともろ友にねやへもいらであかしつるかな
nagatsuki no
hatsuka no tsuki to
morotomo ni
neya e mo irade
akashitsuru kana | On the Longest Month’s
Twentieth day, not the moon
Nor any other
Has entered in my bedchamber,
Where I greet the dawn! |
Tadafusa
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
有明の月のけしきもわびしきにみせばや物をおもふさかりは
ariake no
tsuki no keshiki mo
wabishiki ni
miseba ya mono o
omou sakari wa | At dawn
The moon’s appearance, too,
Is pitiable, indeed;
Should I reveal the profusion
Of my melancholy thoughts? |
Toshiyori
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
いくとせを過しきぬらん秋の夜のあり明の月を我が友にして
iku tose o
sugushikinuran
aki no yo no
ariake no tsuki o
wa ga tomo ni shite | How many are the years that
I have seemed to spend this way?
Autumn nights
At dawn with the moon
My only companion… |
Nakazane
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
ことわりやみるほどもなく明けぬめり夜ふかくいづる山のはの月
kotowari ya
miru hodo mo naku
akenumeri
yo fukaku izuru
yama no ha no tsuki | How natural it is – that
Before I have had a chance to see
Dawn seems to arrive:
Emerging deep within the night,
The moon from yonder mountain’s edge… |
Akinaka
'Simply moving and elegant'