aki fukaki kiku no kakine no tsukikage ni shimo ka to tsuyu zo kiekarikeru
In the depths of autumn On the chrysanthemums by the brushwood fence In the moonlight, The dewdrops, almost as frost, Has vanished and returned again…[i]
kogihanare yuku tsukikage zo awarenaru mushiake no matsu no kaze no oto kana
Drifting ever Further, the moonlight Moves my heart with The pines at Mushiake Sounding in the wind! [i]
18
[i] See: Seaways. 何となく心ぞとまるそれとみてこぎはなれゆくむしあけの松 nani to naku / kokoro zo tomaru / sore to mite / kogihanareyuku / mushiake no matsu ‘Somehow, / They linger in my heart / Having seen them / Drifting ever further, / The pines of Mushiake.’ (Shunzei gosha hyakushu 491); From a Fifty Poem Sequence on the Moon. むしあけのせとのしほひのあけがたになみの月かげとほざかるなり mushiake no / seto no shiohi no / akegata ni / nami no tsukikage / tōzakaru nari ‘At Mushiake / Strait the receding tide / At dawn, / The waves carrying the moonlight / Into the distance.’ Yoshitsune (Akishino gesseishū I: 64)
In the spring of Kenryaku 2 [1212] when there had been a match of Cathay-style poetry at the palace, he composed this on the topic of ‘a spring dawn at a dwelling in the mountains’.
月かげのこずゑにのこる山のはに花もかすめるはるのあけぼの
tsukikage no kozue ni nokoru yama no ha ni hana mo kasumeru haru no akebono
The moonlight Lingers ‘pon the treetops On the mountains’ edge; The blossoms are all hazy At the dawn in sprintime.
The Rokujō Lay Priest and Former Chancellor [Fujiwara no Yorizane 藤原頼実 (1155-1225)]
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)
shinagadori inano no hara no sasamakura makura no shimo ya yadoru tsukikage
Upon waterbird-filled Inano Plain, with A pillow of bamboo— And the frost upon my pillow is The moonlight’s lodging…[i]
583
[i] See: Topic unknown. しながどりゐなのをゆけばありまやま夕ぎり立ちぬやどはなくして shinagadori / inano o yukeba / arimayama / yūgiri tachinu / yado wa nakushite ‘Through waterbird-filled / Inano I go, as / Upon Arima Mountain / Evening mist has risen, and / Me without a lodging…’ Anonymous (Shinkokinshū X: 910)
yara no saki tsukikage samushi okitsudori kamo to iu fune ukinesurashi mo
Above Yara Point The moonlight is chill above A bird upon the offing, The boat named ‘Duck’ Seems to drift, dozing…[i]
571
[i] See: [One of] Ten poems by fishermen from Shiga, in the province of Chikuzen. 奥鳥 鴨云舟者 也良乃崎 多未弖榜来跡 所聞礼許奴可聞 okitsutori / kamo to iu fune wa / yara no saki / tamite kogiku to / kikoekonu kamo ‘As a bird upon the offing / The boat named ‘Duck’ / Around Yara Point / Has come a’rowing— / Won’t someone come to hear…’ (Man’yōshū XVI: 3867)
tabinesuru ise no hamaogi tsuyu nagara musubu makura ni yadoru tsukikage
Sleeping on my travels, with Cogon grass from the shore at Ise, Dew covered, Woven for my pillow, Moonlight’s lodging.[i]
568
[i] See: 神風之 伊勢乃浜荻 折伏 客宿也将為 荒浜辺尓 kamukaze no/ ise no hamaogi / orifusete / tabine ya suramu / araki hamabe ni ‘Divine winds blow / Cogon grass on the shore at Ise / I weave and lay me down— / Should I doze upon my travels? / On this wild beachside…’ (Man’yōshū IV: 500).
