はしるゆの神とはむべぞいひけらしはやきは神のしるしなりけり
| hashiru yu no kami to wa mube zo iikerashi hayaki wa kami no shirushi narikeri | Gushing hot water’s God—of course, that’s What they seem to say! How quickly does the deity’s Power work… |
642
Monthly Archives: June 2026
Kinkai wakashū 641
When I made a pilgrimage to Hashiriyu Mountain.[i]
わたつ海のなかにむかひていづるゆのいづのお山とむべもいひけり
| watatsumi no naka ni mukaite izuru yu no izu no oyama to mube mo iikeri | To the broad sea sweep’s Heart turning, where Hot waters gush on The mount of Izu— Indeed they do![ii] |
641
[i] Hashiriyu Mountain (hashiriyusan 走湯山), which literally means the ‘mountain where hot water runs’, was a sobriquet applied to Izusan Shrine (Izusan jinja 伊豆山神社) in Izu province (modern Shizuoka). The shrine had a close relationship with the Kamakura shogunate, as Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147-1199), the first shogun, prayed there for the revival of the clan’s fortunes.
[ii] Sanetomo builds his poem around a play on words which is impossible to replicate in translation, in that izu(ru) 出づ（る） (‘gush (out)’) echoes the place name Izu 伊豆, so a closer paraphrase of the poem’s meaning is ‘Hot water gushes out [izu] at the mountain called “gushes” [izu], which is no surprise, is it!’
Kinkai wakashū 640
Kinkai wakashū 639
Composed when I had met Dharma Eye Teinin and he had told me of the appearance of Nachi waterfall.[i]
みくまののなちのお山に引くしめのうちはへてのみおつる滝かな
| mikumano no nachi no oyama ni hiku shime no uchihaete nomi otsuru taki kana | In three-shrined Kumano, Upon the little mount of Nachi Hang sacred ropes Simply everywhere continuing The falling cataract![ii] |
639
[i] Nachi waterfall (nachi no taki那智滝) was located in Kii province (modern Wakayama), and is one of Japan’s most famous falls, being 133 metres (436 ft) high. One of Kumano’s three shrines, Kumano Nachi Taisha 熊野那智大社 lies at its foot.
[ii] See: On summer showers, for a folding screen when Shakua’s ninetieth birthday was celebrated. 小山田にひくしめなはのうちはへてくちやしぬらむ五月雨の比 oyamada ni / hiku shimenawa no / uchihaete / kuchi ya shinuramu / samidare no koro ‘Around the little mountain paddies / Hang sacred ropes / Everywhere continuing— / Might they rot away / During these days of summer showers.’ The Regent and Chancellor (Shinkokinshū III: 226)
SKKS III: 226
On summer showers, for a folding screen when Shakua’s ninetieth birthday was celebrated.
小山田にひくしめなはのうちはへてくちやしぬらむ五月雨の比
| oyamada ni hiku shimenawa no uchihaete kuchi ya shinuramu samidare no koro | Around the little mountain paddies Hang sacred ropes Everywhere continuing— Might they rot away During these days of summer showers. |
The Regent and Chancellor
Kinkai wakashū 638
Kinkai wakashū 637
Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 17
Original
もみぢばのちりかふこまのあまたあるをいづれにのりてあきをとどめむ
| momijiba no chirikau koma no amata aru o izure ni norite aki o todomemu | Scarlet leaves Scatter becoming mounts So many, but Which one should I ride To hold the autumn here? |
48
Left
このはちるこのはのこまははやくともあきのかげにはいかがまさらむ
| ko no ha chiru ko no ha no koma wa hayaku tomo aki no kage ni wa ikaga masaramu | Leaves from the trees scatter, Leaves from the trees as a mount Are swift, yet Why is the autumn shade Still spectacular? |
49
Right
ゆくあきをとどむるこまのおそければかぜこそさきにまづさそひけれ
| yuku aki o todomuru koma no osokereba kaze koso saki ni mazu sasoikere | Departing autumn To hold here was the mount Late arriving, so The wind got in ahead and Made the first invitation! |
50
Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 16
Original
ひとりぬるよをながづきのはなすすきそよともあきのかぜぞこたふる
| hitori nuru yo o nagazuki no hanasusuki soyo to mo aki no kaze zo kotauru | Sleeping alone, How long the night in the Longest Month: The blossoming silver grass Whispers, ‘So it is,’ with the autumn Wind replying! |
45
Left
こたふともたのまざらなむはなすすきふくあきかぜのさだめなければ
| kotau tomo tanomazaranamu hanasusuki fuku akikaze no sadame nakereba | It may reply, but I would not have you trust, for The blossoming silver grass Blowing in the autumn wind is Fickle, indeed… |
46
Right
そよとだにしりてこたふるかぜしあらばなにかながきよおもひわぶらん
| soyo to dani shirite kotauru kaze shi araba nanika nagaki yo omoiwaburan | If, ‘So it is,’ You know and reply, O, wind, then Why, all the long night through Do my thoughts torment me so? |
47
Kinkai wakashū 636
Snow at a shrine.
年つもるこしの白山しらずともかしらの雪をあはれとはみよ
| toshi tsumoru koshi no shirayama shirazu tomo kashira no yuki o aware to wa miyo | How years has it drifted upon The mountains white at Shirayama in Koshi I know not, but The snow above my brow, O, behold with pity![i] |
636
[i] See: Composed at Hiroshi Marōdo Shrine, recalling a visit to Shirayama, when he was Governnor of Kaga. としふともこしの白山わすれずはかしらのゆきをあはれともみよ toshi futomo / koshi no shirayama / wasurezu wa / kashira no yuki o / aware tomo miyo ‘The years have passed, yet / The mountains white at Shirayama in Koshi / Never will I forget! So, / The snow above my brow, / O, behold with pity!’ Master of the Left Capital Office Akisuke (Shinkokinshū XIX: 1912)