When he had gone to a place called Akashi in Harima to bathe in the sea, he presented this to the Empress’ pantry on a night when the moon was bright.
覺つかな都の空やいかならむ今夜あかしの月を見るにも
| obotukana miyako no sora ya ikanaramu koyoFi akasi no tuki wo miru ni mo |
I wonder about The skies above the capital: Can Tonight Akashi’s bright Moon you see there, too? |
Middle Councillor Suketsuna
中納言資綱
Composed on early summer rain, while at the estate of Minister of the Emperor’s Household Tsunenaga at Katsurayama.
梅雨は見えし小笹の原もなしあさかの沼の心地のみして
| samidare Fa miesi wozasa no Fara mo nasi asaka no numa no kokoti nomi site |
Summer showers Have I seen, but broad-leaved bamboo Groves are there none; Asaka marsh is Simply what this feels like! |
Fujiwara no Norinaga
藤原範永
Sent to the house of someone he had not visited for a long time.
物いはで人の心を見るほどに頓てとはれでやみぬべき哉
| mono iFade Fito no kokoro wo miru Fodo ni yagate toFarete yaminubeki kana |
While without a word Someone’s heart Can be understood, With an enquiry at last Can I have brought that to an end! |
Dōmyō
道命
Topic unknown.
日にそへて憂事のみも増る哉暮ては頓て明けずもあらなむ
| Fi ni soFete uki koto nomi mo masaru kana kurete Fa yagate akezu mo aranamu |
All throughout the day My misery alone Has been overwhelming; And with the dusk, in the end It seems there is no hope of dawn. |
The Former Nishinomiya Minister of the Left
西宮前左大臣
(Minamoto no Taka’akira 源高明)
There was a man who had been secretly conversing with a woman who had a husband. When their relationship cooled, seeing that he had little time for her, the woman sent this to him.
我宿の軒のしのぶにことよせてやがても茂るわすれ草かな
| wa ga yado no noki no sinobu ni koto yosete yagate mo sigeru wasuregusa kana |
At my dwelling Ferns grow beneath the eaves Is your excuse; And in the end all that grows lush is The grass of your forgetfulness! |
Anonymous
Sent around the end of the Twelfth Month from the province of Bizen to the residence of the Controller of Dewa.
都へは年と共にぞ歸るべきやがて春をもむかへがてらに
| miyako Fe Fa tosi to tomo ni zo kaFerubeki yagate Faru wo mo mukaFe gatera ni |
To the capital Along with the year I must return; At last, with the spring Shall I proceed together! |
Minamoto no Tameyoshi
源為善
Composed at the poetry competition held at the residence of imperial princess Sukeko (Yūshi) on 5th day of the Sixth Month Eishō 5 (1051).
夜だにあけば尋ねてきかむ郭公信太の杜の方になくなり
| yo dani akeba tadunete kitamu Fototogisu sinoda no mori no kata ni nakunari |
With the simple break of dawn Do they come to call: The cuckoos In Shinoda’s sacred grove Do sing. |
Nōin
Composed in the Tenth Month of Jōhō 3 [1076] when the reigning emperor had made a progress to the River Ōi to go hunting.
大井川ふるきながれを尋ねきて嵐のやまの紅葉をぞ見る
| oFowigaFa Furuki nagare wo tadunekite arasi no yama no momidi wo zo miru |
The River Ōi: This ancient flow Have I come to visit, and Around the mount of storms, Scarlet leaves I see! |
Emperor Shirakawa
白河院
Composed when His Majesty’s gentlemen had gone to the River Ōi on the first day of the Tenth Month to compose poetry.
落ちつもる紅葉をみれば大井川井堰に秋もとまる なりけり
| otitumoru momidi wo mireba oFowigaFa iseki ni aki mo tomaru narikeri |
Fallen in piles are The scarlet leaves – when I see them at The River Ōi The weirs and dams autumn Have held in place… |
Former Major Councillor Kintō
前大納言公任
Composed at the River Ōi.
水もなくみえこそわたれ大井河岸の紅葉は雨とふれども
| midu mo naku mie koso watare oFowigaFa kisi no momidi Fa ame to Furedomo |
No water To be seen around at The River Ōi Yet on the banks the scarlet leave Do fall as rain… |
Fujiwara no Sadayori
藤原定頼