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OGURA HYAKUNIN ISSHU — POEM No. 57 of 100

Meguriaite

“The Midnight Moon” — Murasaki ShikibuSource: Shin Kokinshū, Miscellaneous I · 1499
めぐり逢ひて 見しやそれとも わかぬ間に
雲がくれにし 夜半の月影
Meguriaite mishi ya sore to mo wakanu ma ni
kumogakurenishi yowa no tsukikage
We met again — but before I could tell whether it was truly you,
you were gone: the midnight moon slipping behind the clouds.
Meguriaite jacket art

Music Video

ミュージックビデオ
MUSIC VIDEO — COMING SOON

The Story

歌のものがたり
Murasaki Shikibu, author of the Tale of Genji — often called the world's first novel — wrote this after a fleeting reunion with a childhood friend, gone again before she could even be sure it was really her, like the midnight moon slipping behind clouds. Our song overlays that fragility onto a modern near-miss: eyes meeting in a crowd, a familiar face vanishing into the current before a name can be called. Because it lasted only a moment, it stays forever.

Lyrics

歌詞
Japanese

雑踏の中で ふと目が合った

あの日の君と 同じ笑い方で

名前を呼ぶ前に 人波にまぎれて

もう姿は 見えなくなった

ほんの一瞬の めぐり逢いだった

それでも確かに 君だったはず

夜空の月が 雲に隠れるみたいに

めぐり逢いて 見しやそれとも

わからないまま 夜は更けてゆく

あれは本当に 君だったのかな

それとも僕の 見た夢だったのかな

雲がくれにし 夜半の月影

追いかける手も 届かないまま

連絡先も 聞けないままで

別れた言葉も 覚えていない

それでも今夜 思い出している

君の声を 君のまなざしを

ほんの一瞬の めぐり逢いだから

こんなにも深く 胸に残るの

夜空の月が 雲を抜けるみたいに

めぐり逢ひて 見しやそれとも

わからないまま 時は流れて

あれは本当に 君だったのかな

それでも確かに 光はあったよ

雲がくれにし 夜半の月影

記憶のなかで 今も照らしてる

めぐり逢ひて 見しやそれとも わかぬ間に

雲がくれにし 夜半の月かな

めぐり逢ひて 見しやそれとも

答えはきっと もう要らないんだ

一瞬だったから 美しかった

確かめないから 永遠になった

雲がくれにし 夜半の月影

あの夜の月は 今もどこかで

誰かを照らして いるのだろう

English

In the bustling crowd, our eyes happened to meet

with the very same smile as you, from that day long ago

before I could call your name, you slipped into the surging crowd

and your figure was already gone from sight

it was a meeting of only the briefest moment

and yet, surely, it had to have been you

like the moon in the night sky slipping behind the clouds

We meet again — but was it really you?

not knowing for certain, the night deepens on

was that truly you, I wonder

or was it only a dream that I had seen?

the midnight moon, hidden away behind the clouds

and my reaching hand never quite catches up

I never even got to ask how to find you again

I can't remember the words we said in parting

and yet tonight, I find myself remembering

your voice, and the look within your eyes

because it was a meeting of only the briefest moment

it lingers this deeply, etched within my heart

like the moon in the night sky breaking through the clouds

We meet again — but was it really you?

not knowing for certain, the time keeps flowing on

was that truly you, I wonder

and yet, surely, there was a light

the midnight moon, hidden away behind the clouds

within my memory, it is shining even now

We met — but was it you? — before I could even tell

the midnight moon had hidden away behind the clouds

We meet again — but was it really you?

surely by now, I no longer need an answer

because it was but a moment, it was beautiful

because I never made certain, it became eternal

the midnight moon, hidden away behind the clouds

that moon of that night, somewhere even now

must still be shining down on someone

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