春のよのためしもしるし紀の国や吹上の波にかすむ月かげ
haru no yo no
tameshi mo shirushi
ki no kuni ya
fukiage no hama ni
kasumu tsukikage | A spring night’s
Exemplar and sign:
In the land of Ki,
Fukiage beach in
The hazy moonlight. |
161
月影のそれかあらぬかかげろふのほのかにみえて雲がくれにし
tsukikage no
sore ka aranu ka
kagerō no
honoka ni miete
kumogakurenishi | Was it the moonlight,
Or was it not?
As through haze
Faintly glimpsed, and
Hidden amongst the clouds. |
428
On whiteness
かもめゐるおきのしらすにふる雪のはれゆく空の月のさやけさ
kamome iru
oki no shirasu ni
furu yuki no
hareyuku sora no
tsuki no sayakesa | Gulls land
On the sandbar in the offing, where
The fallen snow
Beneath the clearing sky
Is chill within the moonlight. |
378
A storm beneath the moon.
ふけにけりとやまの嵐さえさえてとをちの里にすめる月影
fukenikeri
toyama no arashi
saesaete
tōchi no sato ni
sumeru tsukikage | It has grown late—
The storm within the distant mountains
Is so chill, and
Above the estate at Tōchi
Clear is the moonlight. |
346
On frost forming in the moonlight.
月影のしろきをみればかささぎのわたせるはしに霜ぞ置きける
tsukikage no
shiroki o mireba
kasasagi no
wataseru hashi ni
shimo zo okikeru | When the moonlight,
White, I see,
Upon the magpie
Crossed bridge
Frost has fallen! |
343
The moon above a lake in winter.
ひらの山やま風さむみからさきやにほの水うみ月ぞこほれる
hira no yama
yamakaze samumi
karasaki ya
nio no mizu’umi
tsuki zo koboreru | Hira Mountain’s
Mountain breezes are so cold, as
In Karasaki,
The lake of grebes
Overflows with moonlight. |
340
Autumn Moon
Left (Tie)
しらつゆのそこにひかりはやどれどもとまらでぞゆくあきのつきかげ
shiratsuyu no
soko ni hikari wa
yadoredomo
tomarade zo yuku
aki no tsukikage | At silver dewdrops
Base its light
Does lodge, yet
Never stays, but departs—
The autumn moonlight. |
Fujiwara no Kakena
9
Right
あきのつきこのしたなべてあかければこのもかのものかげだにもせず
aki no tsuki
ko no shita nabete
akakereba
kono mo kano mo no
kage dani mo sezu | When the autumn moon
Aligns beneath the trees
So bright,
Each and every one
Casts no shadow at all. |
Miyaji no Sukeon
10
On picking a chrysanthemum bloom on a moonlit night
ぬれてをる袖の月かげふけにけり籬のきくの花のうへの露
nurete oru
sode no tsukikage
fukenikeri
magaki no kiku no
hana no ue no tsuyu | Wet, when picking,
Upon my sleeves the moonlight
Has set, for
By the lattice fence, upon the chrysanthemum
Blooms lie dewdrops. |
さよふけてなかばたけゆく月影にあかでや人の衣うつらん
sayo fukete
nakaba takeyuku
tsukikage ni
akade ya hito no
koromo utsuran | Brief night draws on, and
From its height descends
The moonlight, as
Unfulfilled, perhaps, someone
Seems to be fulling clothes? |
In a place famous for the autumn moon
さざなみやひらの山風さよふけて月影さむししがのからさき
sazanami ya
hira no yamakaze
sayo fukete
tsukikage samushi
shiga no karasaki | Wavelets stir at
The breeze from Hira Mountain,
As night draws on and
The moonlight chills
Karasaki in Shiga. |
'Simply moving and elegant'
