Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.36 清原深養父「夏の夜は まだ宵ながら 明けぬるを 雲のいづこに 月宿るらむ」

夏の夜は まだ宵ながら 明けぬるを 雲のいづこに 月宿るらむ

清原深養父

the night ended too soon — where is the moon staying tonight

the night ended too soon — where is the moon staying tonight

キーワードKeywords

Short NightDawnHiding MoonLodgingBlue Hour
Nature/Seasons Summer

清原深養父Kiyohara no Fukayabu — No. 36 官人Official

An official celebrated as a koto player, who left poems of light and easy wit.

なつのよは まだよひながら あけぬるを くものいづこに つきやどるらむ

Natsu no yo wa Mada yoi nagara Akenuru o Kumo no izuko ni Tsuki yadoruran

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

Blue hour, three-something in the morning. The summer night ended before it properly began — the sky is already pale at the rim. The moon never got a chance to cross; it must be lodging somewhere inside the clouds, like a traveler who arrived too late to be seen.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Yūgen (Graceful Mystery)

Instead of stating that the night was short, the poem worries about where the moon is sleeping. The unseen is given a room. Leaving your subject just off-frame — implied, lodged somewhere in the clouds — produces more presence than showing it.