Submitted by Maiko Heller on Mo, 07/25/2011 - 19:13
Longing for home in the moonlight
terasuka tsukikage sangokuichino
terasuka tsukikage sangokuichino
fujiyori ochikuru shimizuno nagare
shimizuni yonetogu wagafurusato’o
koishiya furusato omoeba imamo
koishiya furusato omoeba imamo
kasukani hibikuyo yasashiki hahano
mihizani nemurishi mukashino utano
Nowhere does the moon shine so brightly and does even
shade,
nowhere does the moon shine so brightly and does even
shade,
the clear water of the river, which Fuji is the source of,
which we washed rice with, that’s the home that I’m
thinking of.
I’m still longing for my beloved home,
I’m still longing for my beloved home,
weakly, I can still hear the song that I heard a long time
ago,
when I was sleeping on my beloved mother’s lap.
This song is included in a songbook for middle school which was published in 1909. The poet’s last name is Shimomura, however, it is not certain how the characters of his first name are to be pronounced. The lyrics feature Japan’s highest mountain, Mount Fuji, as a national symbol.