有明の

つれなく見えし

別れより

暁ばかり

憂きものはなし   

みぶのただみね

ありあけの

つれなくみえし

わかれより

あかつきばかり

うきものはなし

Mibu no Tadamine

With the dawn moon

Looking ever so cold

So near to our parting

The breaking light of day

Is what I dislike the most.

Hokusai

Mibu no Tadamine (born c. 850, active 898 - 920) was an early Heian waka poet of the court, and one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and one of the compilers of the Kokinshu. His son Mibu no Tadami (poem 41) was also a distinguished poet.

作者略伝と語釈

Mibu no Tadamine by Kikuchi Yosai

The original interpretation seems to have been a disappointed lover returning home after a long wait, with a significant comparison seen between the cold lady and the cold moon. Teika’s interpretation tends more toward a reluctant parting. The moon low on the horizon looks larger and bleaker than when it is higher in the sky.

Hokusai’s drawing shows a man with bent head leaving his lover’s home while workmen are already on their way.

Moon at dawn, ariake