Sent to someone who had served the empress of former Emperor Ichijō, who gone to Hyūga province.
あかねさす日にむかひても思ひいでよみやこはしのぶながめすらんと
| akane sasu Fi ni mukaFitemo omoFi’ideyo miyako Fa sinobu nagame suran to | Shining madder red Toward the sun have you made your way, but O, remember, To recall the capital, and Turn your gaze that way… |
Her Majesty, the Empress
During the reign of Retired Emperor Horikawa, when Middle Councillor [Minamoto no] Shigesuke (1045-1122) was the Controller of the Chamberlain’s Office, he sent this together with a letter from [his eldest son] Minamoto no Toshishige requesting a position as Secretary in the Ministry of Ceremonial.
日の光あまねき空のけしきにもわが身一つは雲隱れつゝ
| Fi no Fikari amaneki sora no kesiki ni mo wa ga mi Fitotu Fa kumo kakuretutu | The sunlight Fills the entire sky; Yet in this sight I alone Am always hidden ’neath the clouds. |
Minamoto no Toshiyori
源俊頼
Gyōson had been wandering the land for many years honing his ascetic skills when he came to Kumano to join in a test of faith. Lord [Fujiwara no] Suke’ie came to view the ceremony and saw him there, but because he was extraordinarily thin and frail and had completely changed his appearance, did not recognise him, and said to the monk next to him, ‘What manner of man is that? He seem amazingly enlightened!’ Hearing this, Gyōson composed:
心こそ世をば捨てしかまぼろしの姿も人に忘られにけり
| kokoro koso yo wo ba sutesi ka maborosi no sugata mo Fito ni wasurarenikeri | In my heart I have left the world behind, yet Even as a phantom Figure, folk have Forgotten me, it seems. |
Archbishop Gyōson
Once when Izumi Shikbu was on her way to Ishiyama, she stopped in Ōtsu; late at night she sensed a crowd of people nearby making an enormous amount of noise. On enquiring what was going on, she was told, ‘Some people from the lower orders are polishing rice,’ and composed this poem.
鷺のゐる松原いかに騷ぐ覽しらげはうたて里とよみけり
| sagi no wiru matubara ikani sawaguran sirage Fa utate sato toyomikeri | Egrets dwell Among the pine groves; how Noisy they seem; Their white plumes unpleasantly Echo through the house, it seems. |
Izumi Shikibu
和泉式部
Composed on the conception of love at the end of the Third Month.
春はをし人はこよひとたのむればおもひわづらふ今日のくれかな
| Faru Fa wosi Fito Fa koyoi to tanomureba omoFiwazuraFu keFu no kure kana | Regretting the departure of spring, and Tonight, my man Expecting, Wracked with painful thoughts Does today reach its dusk! |
The Minister of the Centre
During the period when Izumi Shiku had accompanied Yasumasa to Tango, when there was a poetry match in the capital and Handmaid Koshikibu was selected as one of the poets, Lord Sadayori came to her chamber at the palace and went on at her, asking, ‘How are your poems coming along? Will you be sending them to your mother in Tango? Has your messenger not returned yet?’ and really seemed very unsettled about everything, so she composed this as a playful way of preventing him from going himself.
おほえ山いくのの道のとほければまだふみもみずあまのはしだて
| oFoeyama ikuno no michi no toFokereba mada Fumi mo miezu ama no Fasidate | In Ōeyama The path to Ikuno Lies far away, so I’ve not set foot upon it, or had a letter from Ama-no-Hashidate! |
Handmaid Koshikibu
Composed on the moon at dawn on the road to a barrier, while at the Shirakawa residence of the former Uji Grand Minister.
あり明の月もし水にやどりけりこよひはこえじあふさかの関
| ariake no tuki mo simizu ni yadorikeri koyoFi Fa koezi aFusaka no seki | The dawntime Moon within pure water Has lodged; Tonight I’ll not pass The barrier at Meeting Hill. |
Lord Fujiwara no Norinaga
