Cathay Folk 唐人
から人の衣にかざるしら玉の碧き光のめづらしきかな
karabito no
koromo ni kazaru
shiratama no
shiroki hikari no
mezurashiki kana | The Cathay folks’
Garb is adorned
With pearls –
Their blue-white glow
Is rare, indeed! |
Higo
Cathay Folk 唐人
うな原やはかたのおきにかかりたるもろこし舟に時つぐるなり
unabara ya
hakata no oki ni
kakaritaru
morokoshibune ni
toki tsuguru nari | Across the seabed
To the offing by Hakata
Have trailed
Ships from far Cathay and
There will they spend some time. |
Kanemasa
Cathay Folk 唐人
うれしきをいかにすればかから人のことしも袖をせばくたつらん
ureshiki o
ika ni sureba ka
karabito no
kotoshi mo sode o
sebaku tatsuran | My joy,
What am I to do with it?
For the Cathay folk
This year, too, have sleeves
So narrowly sewn! |
Tadafusa
Cathay Folk 唐人
から人は志賀のをじまに舟出してなから待つらんはたて初むなり
karabito wa
shiga no ojima ni
funade shite
nakara matsuran
hatate somu nari | The Cathay folk
From the islet of Shiga
Have set sail;
Awaiting the mid-point
Have they first reached the edge… |
Toshiyori
Cathay Folk 唐人
おしてるやちへの白波わけしのぎわがしき島にいかできつらん
oshiteru ya
chie no shiranami
wake’shinogi
wa ga shikishima ni
ikade kitsuran | Sparkling are
The thousandfold whitecaps
Through which you forge your way
To our scattered isles –
How could you have made it? |
Nakazane
Cathay Folk 唐人
たつなみにつづみの声をうちそへてから人よせくおきの島守
tatsu nami ni
tsuzumi no koe o
uchisoete
karabito yoseku
oki no shimamori | With the breaking waves
Drumming roar
For company
Cathay folk draw near to
The warder of the isles offshore. |
Akinaka
Sages’ Dwellings 仙宮
古郷はいかになりにしをののえのくつるもしらず年のへぬれば
furusato wa
ika ni narinishi
ono no e no
kutsuru mo shirazu
toshi no henureba | My home,
O, what has become of it?
My axe handle
Rotting, I noticed not, and
So the years passed by… |
Daishin
Sages’ Dwellings 仙宮
我もいざたづね入りなんをののえのくちけん山の跡をしのびて
ware mo iza
tazune’iri nan
ono no e no
kuchiken yama no
ato o shinobite | I, too, somehow
Seem to have paid a visit there!
Of an axe handle
Rotting on a mountain
I have remnants of recollection. |
Higo
Sages’ Dwellings 仙宮
のりて行くつるの羽風に雲晴れて月もさやけくすむ山べかな
norite yuku
tsuru no hakaze ni
kumo harete
tsuki mo sayakeku
sumu yamabe kana | Carried on
The cranes’ wing-breeze,
The clouds part and
The moon, so bright, and
Clear shines on this mountainside! |
Kanemasa
Sages’ Dwellings 仙宮
いかにして玉のうてなの久しくもなかりし程に千代をへぬらん
ika ni shite
tama no utena no
hisashiku mo
nakarishi sato ni
chiyo o henuran | What am I to do?
In a fair tower
Not long did
I stay but, in that dwelling
A thousand generations seem to pass… |
Tadafusa
'Simply moving and elegant'