Gazing at the moon from my bed
草の庵にひとりながめて年もへぬ友なき山の秋のよの月
kusa no io ni
hitori nagamete
toshi mo henu
tomo naki yama no
aki no yo no tsuki | In a hut of thatch,
Alone, I gaze,
Through the passing years
At a lonely mountain lit
By the moon on autumn nights… |
思ひいでて昔をしのぶ袖のうへにありしにもあらぬ月ぞやどれる
omoi’idete
mukashi o shinobu
sode no ue ni
arishi ni mo aranu
tsuki zo yadoreru | Recalling
Bygone days so fondly;
Upon my sleeves
Then there was no
Moonlight lodging. |
我ながらおぼえずおくか袖の露月に物おもふよごろへぬれば
ware nagara
oboezu oku ka
sode no tsuyu
tsuki ni mono’omou
yogoro henureba | Have I
All unknowing let fall
Dewdrops on my sleeves, while
Sunk in gloomy thought beneath the moon,
As the nights go by… |
あまのはらふりさけみれば月きよみ秋のよいたくふけにけるかな
ama no hara
furisake mireba
tsuki kiyomi
aki no yo itaku
fukenikeru kana | When upon the plain of Heaven,
Upwards, I turn my gaze,
Pure is the moon
On this autumn night so
Late it is! |
As a moon poem
月きよみ秋のよいたくふけにけりさほの川原に千鳥しばなく
tsuki kiyomi
aki no yo itaku
fukenikeri
sao no kawara ni
chidori shiba naku | Pure is the moon
On this autumn night so
Late;
From the riverside at Sao
Piercing are the plovers’ cries. |
Right
もとゆひのしもにしもそふここちしてまばゆくみゆる夜半の月かな
motoyui no
shimo ni shimo sou
kokochishite
mabayuku miyuru
yowa no tsuki kana | Upon my hair-tie
Frost atop of frost does trail
I feel;
Blinding bright appears
The midnight moon! |
Agatanushi Shigeyasu
The moon in the four seasons.
天河夜わたる月もこほるらん霜にしもおくかささぎのはし
ama no kawa
yo wataru tsuki mo
kōruran
shimo ni shimo oku
kasasagi no hashi | The River of Heaven, and
The night-traversing moon, too,
Seem to freeze—
Frost atop of frost falls
On a bridge of magpie wings. |
Teika
When she had gone to Kamo on a winter’s night when the moon was shining brightly.
神がきや松のあらしもおとさえて霜にしもしく冬の夜のつき
kamigaki ya
matsu no arashi mo
oto saete
shimo ni shimo shiku
fuyu no yo no tsuki | At the sacred grounds,
Storm winds through the pines
Sound so chill;
Frost atop of frost is spread,
The moon this winter’s night. |
Kenreimon’in ukyō no daibu
Composed on the moon above a hut in the fields.
月きよみたなかにたてるかりいほのかげばかりこそくもりなりけれ
tuki kiyomi
tanaka ni tateru
kari’iFo no
kage bakari koso
kumori narikere | So clear the moon—
Standing in the rice fields
The harvest hut’s
Shadow alone, indeed,
Is the only cloud. |
The Newly Retired Emperor [Sutoku]
When His Majesty was recently retired, on a night when the moon was shining brightly, he sent this to him via a court lady.
すみのぼる月のひかりにさそはれてくものうへまでゆくこころかな
suminoboru
tsuki no hikari ni
sasowarete
kumo no ue made
yuku kokoro kana | Clearly climbing
The light of the moon
Invites,
Above the clouds,
To go my heart! |
The Chancellor
'Simply moving and elegant'
