Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.21 素性法師「今来むと いひしばかりに 長月の 有明の月を 待ち出でつるかな」

今来むと いひしばかりに 長月の 有明の月を 待ち出でつるかな

素性法師

“right away,” he said — and I met the dawn moon instead

“right away,” he said — and I met the dawn moon instead

キーワードKeywords

Broken PromiseDawn MoonAll-Night WaitNinth MonthOne Word
Love

素性法師Sosei Hōshi — No. 21 僧・法師Monk

Son of the monk Henjō and a monk himself, counted among the thirty-six immortal poets.

いまこむと いひしばかりに ながつきの ありあけのつきを まちいでつるかな

Ima komu to Iishi bakari ni Nagatsuki no Ariake no tsuki o Machi idetsuru kana

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

He said he would come right away. She sat with that sentence through the longest nights of the ninth month, until the moon that rises just before dawn came up over the wall. The night is over; he has not arrived.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Ma (Duration Held Open)

Nothing happens for the length of the poem, and that emptiness is the content. The arrival of the wrong moon marks the time. When you want to convey waiting, mark its end with an object, not a complaint.