Composed when people had gathered below Nunohiki Falls and were composing poems.
ぬきみだる人こそあるらし白玉のまなくもちるか袖のせばきに
| nukimidaru Fito koto arurasi siratama no ma naku mo tiru ka sode no sebaki ni |
Plucking them apart to glimpse their disarray: There must be someone there! White jewelets Scattering without a halt, And my sleeve too narrow! |
Narihira
業平
On a day when there was an entertainment of launching some boats on the pond at the home of the Nakatsukasa Prince [Atsuyoshi], the Priestly Retired Emperor [Uda] came to watch. Towards evening, he prepared to leave, and Ise composed this poem for him.
水のうへにうかべる舟の君ならばここぞとまりといはまし物を
| midu no uFe ni ukaberu Fune no kimi naraba koko zo tomari to iFamasi mono wo | On the water Float these boats: If one were your majesty, ‘ Berth yourself here!’ Is what I would wish to say. |
Ise
伊勢
On a day when the Priestly Retired Emperor [Uda (867-931; r. 887-897)] was at the Western River, Tsurayuki composed this poem on the topic of ‘cranes standing on a sandbank’ by imperial command.
あしたづのたてる河邊を吹く風によせてかへらぬ浪かとぞ見る
| asitadu no tateru kaFabe wo Fuku kaze ni yosete kaFeranu nami ka to zo miru |
Cranes among the reeds Standing by the water’s edge: The gusting wind has Brought near, and not retrieved These whitecaps, or so it seems. |
Tsurayuki
貫之
When he had gone to Naniwa, he met with rain on Tamino Island and composed this poem:
あめによりたみのの島をけふゆけど名にはかくれぬ物にぞ有りける
| ame ni yori tamino no sima wo keFu yukedo na ni Fa kakurenu mono ni zo arikeru | On account of rain To Tamino Isle, raincoat clad, I went today, yet Naniwa, so well-known, conceals The place! |
Tsurayuki
貫之
Composed and sent to someone he knew who had gone to Sumiyoshi.
住吉とあまはつぐともながゐすな人忘草おふといふなり
| sumiyosi to ama Fa tugu tomo nagawi su na Fito wasuregusa oFu to iFu nari |
Sumiyoshi is a pleasant place to stay, So say the fisher-folk, yet Do not stay there long, in Nagai; The flower for forgetting folk Blooms there, or so they say. |
Mibu no Tadamine
壬生忠岑
When Tsurayuki was in the province of Izumi, Tadafusa came over from Yamato and composed and sent this poem.
君を思ひおきつのはまになくたづの尋ねくればぞありとだにきく
| kimi wo omoFi okitu no Fama ni naku tadu no tadune kureba zo ari to dani kiku |
Concerned for you By Okitsu beach The calling cranes Come and enquire Finding you in good health, at least. |
Fujiwara no Tadafusa