A poem composed upon passing the hill of Ashigara and seeing the body of a man who had died.
小垣内の 麻を引き干し 妹なねが 作り着せけむ 白栲の 紐をも解かず 一重結ふ 帶を三重結ひ 苦しきに 仕へ奉りて 今だにも 國に罷りて 父母も 妻をも見むと 思ひつつ 行きけむ君は 鷄が鳴く 東の國の 畏きや 神の御坂に 和妙の 衣寒らに ぬばたまの 髮は亂れて 國問へど 國をも告らず 家問へど 家をも言はず ますらをの 行きのまにまに ここに臥やせる
| wokakitu nö asa wo pikiposi imo nane ga tukurikisekemu sirotapë no pimo wo mo tokazu pitö pe yupu obi wo mi pe yupi kurusiki ni tukapematurite ima dani mo kuni ni makarite titi papa mo tuma wo mo mimu tö omopitutu yukikemu kimi pa töri ga naku aduma nö kuni nö kasikoki ya kamï nö misaka ni nikipada no körömo samurani nubatama no kami pa midarete kuni topedö kuni wo mo norazu ipe topedö ipe wo mo ipazu masurawo nö yuki nö manimani kökö ni koyaseru |
Within your small-fenced home Was drawn and dried the hemp By your wife, or mayhap sister, dear Perhaps, she made for and clothed you In a white barken Belt-you never would undo- A single strand of belt Wrapped three times round you; And though you suffered, In your service to the Court At long last, Were you ordered to the provinces Your mother and father, And your wife too, to see; With such thoughts, You, no doubt, made your way To the bird-calling Eastern lands: An awesome God dwells on this hill- A soft skin, Your clothes seem cold- Lily-seed black Hair in tangles; And though I ask your land, You will not say; And though ask your home, You will not say; A sturdy man Proceeding on your way, Lying in this place. |
Tanabe no Sakimaro (active 740s)
岩綱のまた變若ちかへりあをによし奈良の都をまたも見むかも
| ipaduna nö mata wotikaperi awoni yösi nara nö miyako wo mata mo mimu ka mo |
Jasmine ropes the rocks, Still filled with youth; The blue-black clays of The capital, Nara, Will I see it more? |
When His Majesty, the Emperor [Tenchi], asked the Grand Minister, Lord Fujiwara [no Kamatari], which was superior: the myriad hued flowers of spring or the thousand leaves of autumn, Princess Nukata settled the matter with this poem.
冬木成 春去来者 不喧有之 鳥毛来鳴奴 不開有之 花毛佐家礼抒 山乎茂 入而毛不取 草深 執手母不見 秋山乃 木葉乎見而者 黄葉乎婆 取而曽思努布 青乎者 置而曽歎久 曽許之恨之 秋山吾者
冬こもり 春さり來れば 鳴かずありし 鳥も來鳴きぬ 咲かずありし 花も咲けれど 山を茂み 入りても取らず 草深み 取りても見ず 秋山の 木の葉を見ては 黄葉をば 取りてぞ偲ふ 靑きをば 置きてぞ嘆く そこし恨めし 秋山ぞ吾は
| puyu kömori paru sarikureba nakazu arisi töri mo ki nakinu sakazarisi pana mo sakeredö yama wo simi irite mo torazu kusa pukami torite mo mizu akiyama nö ko nö pa wo mite pa momiti wo ba torite zö sinopu awoki wo ba okite zö nagëku sökö si uramesi akiyama zö are pa | Buried by winter, When spring comes to pass, The silent Birds burst into song; The bloomless Flowers burst out, but The mountains are so lush, One cannot make one’s way; The grasses are so thick, An outstretched hand is lost; On an autumn mountain, One sees trees’ leaves: The yellow leaves, To take for a keepsake; Green ones To leave behind in sorrow, Though I hate to do it: It’s the autumn mountains for me! |