鏡きょう花か水すい月げつ

きょ

う

か

す

い

げ

つ

Meanings

noun

flowers in a mirror, moon on water; something visible but insubstantial; ineffable poetic beauty

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A yojijukugo originating from classical Chinese poetics. Literally describes reflections that are beautiful yet ungraspable. Used metaphorically for things that seem real but lack substance, or for a profound, subtle beauty that cannot be captured in words.

彼かれの理り想そうは鏡きょう花か水すい月げつに過すぎない。
His ideal is nothing more than an illusion.
この詩しには鏡きょう花か水すい月げつの趣おもむきがある。
This poem has the subtle charm of something beautiful yet elusive.

Kanji

鏡mirror, speculum, barrel-head
花flower
水water
月month, moon

Related words

幻まぼろし
幻 is a common word for illusion or phantom, while 鏡花水月 is a literary yojijukugo emphasizing the beauty and ungraspable nature of the illusion.
水すい月げつ
水月 (moon on water) is a related poetic image often used in Zen to symbolize the illusory nature of reality, but 鏡花水月 combines both mirror and water reflections for a fuller metaphor.

Etymology

A yojijukugo derived from classical Chinese literature, combining 鏡花 (flower in a mirror) and 水月 (moon on water), both symbols of beautiful but ungraspable illusions. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it has been used in Japanese poetry and Zen writings to express the ineffable nature of beauty and reality.