Izumi Shikibu

Out of the dark,
Into a dark path
I now must enter:
Shine on me from afar,
Moon of the mountain fringe!

Izumi Shikibu (Japanese: 和泉式部, b. 976?) was a mid Heian period Japanese poet.

Quotes

• Kuraki yori
  Kuraki michi ni zo
  lrinubeki
  Haruka ni terase
  Yama no ha no tsuki.
  • Out of the dark,
    Into a dark path
    I now must enter:
    Shine on me from afar,
    Moon of the mountain fringe!
  • Translated by Arthur Waley
  • "Said to be [Izumi Shikibu's] death-verse; the moon may refer to Buddha's teachings." Anthology Of Japanese Literature (1955) by Donald Keene, p. 92