[68] こころに (Kokoroni)

 Poem Meaning and Background

Depiction of this poem by the artist Hokusai

こころにも・あらでうきよに・ながらへば
kokoro ni mo・arade ukiyo ni・nagaraeba

こひしかるべき・よはのつきかな

koishikaru beki・yowa no tsuki kana

〜三条院（Sanjō In）

Translation

Though I do not want

To live on in this floating world,

If I remain here,

Let me remember only

This midnight and this moonrise.

Meaning

This poem was written by Emperor Sanjō after it was decided that he would abdicate the throne. Emperor Sanjō's reign had been a difficult one; the Imperial Palace had burned down not once, but twice during his time as Emperor, and he was losing his eyesight rapidly. His uncle, Fujiwara no Michinaga, held a role of considerable influence at that time, and pressured Emperor Sanjō to give up the throne to Michinaga's grandson. Since Michinaga's grandson was still a child, this was likely also a political move to seize more control over the imperial court. In this poem, Emperor Sanjō writes about the moon, wishing to sear the image of it into his memory while he still can see it, though he claims that he does not care to go on living. Indeed, he did not live much longer after writing this poem, since he passed away about a year after stepping down as Emperor. 

In the first lines, 心にも・あらで (kokoro ni mo ・ara de) means "as opposed to (my) true desire". The phrase うき世（ukiyo) is written without any kanji for the word うき, so it could have a couple different translations, including 浮世= floating world, or 憂き世＝world of grief and worry. Considering the author's difficult past, it seems likely that he meant the latter. ながらえば (nagaraeba) means "if (my life) is to go on longer". Translated in order, the first half sounds like: "Even against my desire/ in this world of grief and worry/ if I am to go on living". 

In the second half, 恋しかるべき (koi shikaru beki) means "surely will miss". What will be missed comes in the next line: 夜半の月 (yowa no tsuki), the moon which shines brightly in the middle of the night. There is a sense that he is trying to capture the beauty of the moon while he is still able to see it, so that he may still be able to remember later even if he lives longer, and ends up losing his eyesight completely. 

Author

Emperor Sanjō (976~1017) was the 67th Emperor of Japan. He abdicated the throne after about 5 years due to pressure from his maternal uncle, Fujiwara no Michinaga. Michinaga's grandson, Emperor Go-Ichijō, became the next emperor when he was only 8 or 9 years old.