[One of] five poems sent by Yakamochi, Lord Ōtomo, to the Elder Maiden of Sakanoe.
言問はぬ木すらあぢさゐ諸弟らが練りのむらとに詐かれけり
koto topanu
ki sura adisawi
morotora ga
neri no mura to ni
azamukarekeri | Mute are
Trees, yet even they blossom as hydrangeas do;
Many are the men
By your honeyed words
Deceived, no doubt! |
Ōtomo no Yakamochi
上野阿蘇山つづら野を広み延ひにしものをあぜか絶えせむ
kamituke no
aso yama tudura
no wo piromi
papinisi mono wo
aze ka taesemu | In Kamitsuke
Upon Aso Mountain the moonseed
Covers all the meadows;
It stretches so far—
How ever can it be cut? |
駿河の海おしへに生ふる浜つづら汝を頼み母に違ひぬ
suruga no umi
wosipe ni opuru
pamatudura
imasi wo tanomi
papa ni tagapinu | By the sea at Suruga
Growing on the rocks
Is moonseed on the beach—just so
Do I cling to you
Despite my mother’s warnings… |
Composed on the conception of Lingering Cold.
衣手のうすきや冬のせきならんわが身はいとどしみこほりつつ
koromode no
usuki ya fuyu no
seki naran
wa ga mi wa itodo
shimikōritsutsu | Do my sleeves,
So scanty, winter’s
Barrier gate mark?
My flesh is still so
Pierced with icy chills! |
New Year’s Eve.
よしの川ながれて過ぐる年浪の立ゐのかげもくれにけるかな
yoshino gawa
nagarete suguru
toshinami no
tachi’i no kage mo
kurenikeru kana | The River Yoshino
Flows on past while
The year’s waves
Rise and fall
Fading into shadow! |
Ōe no Masafusa
Monkeys 猿
さらぬだにおいては物のかなしきに夕のましら声なきかせそ
saranu dani
oite wa mono no
kanashiki ni
yū no mashira
koe na kikase so | Not even leaving—
Sunk in
Sadness
O, monkeys, this evening
Let me not hear your cries! |
Daishin
Monkeys 猿
あしびきの山べにあそぶ木の葉ざるおもふ心ぞありて鳴くなる
ashibiki no
yamabe ni asobu
ko no ha zaru
omou kokoro zo
arite nakunaru | On the leg-wearying
Mountain slopes play
Monkeys among the leaves—
Human feelings do
They have, and so they cry. |
Higo
Monkeys 猿
おもふことおほえの山に世の中をいかにせましと三声なくなり
omou koto
ōe no yama ni
yo no naka o
ika ni semashi to
mikoe nakunari | Deep in thought
Upon Mount Ōe,
‘In this mundane world,
O, what I am to do?’ cry
Voices three. |
Kanemasa
Monkeys 猿
三度てふ声だにきけばよそ人に物おもひまさるねをぞ嗚くなる
mitabi chō
koe dani kikeba
yosobito ni
mono’omoi masaru
ne o zo nakunaru | When three times
That call I hear,
A stranger in
Deepest depression is
Crying out! |
Tadafusa
Monkeys 猿
たかのみこいともあやしとみましけり猿まろをしも引きたてじとや
takano miko
ito mo ayashi to
mimashikeri
sarumaro o shimo
hikitateji to ya | Prince Takano
Really does have a strange
Appearance, I would say!
For a monkey does
Not stand upright, does he? |
Toshiyori
'Simply moving and elegant'
