My Translation
At ease, I clearly see—
My home, my capital,
The Harvest Moon!
Original Japanese
たんだすめ住めば都ぞ今日の月
Pronunciation
Tanda sume
Sume-ba miyako zo
Kyou no tsuki
Literal & Notes
Only/Just [become clear/live/finish/at ease]
[Live when I] capital [for sure]
Harvest moon [today’s moon]
There was a popular dance song at the time that went like “tanda fure fure,” meaning “just fall, fall” [snowflakes]. This is done in the same style, like “just live, live” [in the capital]. The first “sume” can have various additional meanings as illustrated above, for example the harvest moon makes the night clear and he feels at ease. This also ties into the proverb “sume-ba miyako,” meaning “there’s no place like home” or literally “if you live here, it is your capital.”
Year:
2011
Reviews
No reviews yet.