Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
ほととぎす
Fujiwara no Sanesada · 後徳大寺左大臣
ほととぎす
鳴きつる方を
眺むれば
ただ有明の
月ぞ残れる
Historical kana
ほととぎす
なきつるかたを
ながむれば
ただありあけの
つきぞのこれる
Original English translation
Looking towards the place where the cuckoo called, I find only the moon remaining at dawn.
History and context
Sanesada appears as the Later Tokudaiji Minister of the Left. Hearing the first hototogisu was a valued seasonal experience in court poetry; the bird’s unseen departure leaves another object in view.
Imagery and wordplay
Sound prompts the gaze, but the singer is gone. The lingering moon becomes the visual remainder.
Senzaishū · 千載集夏161
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.