Topic unknown.
山ぶきはあやなな咲きそ花みんと植へけむきみがこよひ来なくに
| yamabuki Fa aya na na saki so Fana min to uFekemu kimi ga koyoFi konaku ni | O, kerria, Do not pointlessly burst into blossom! Hoping that he would see your blooms I planted you, yet he Tonight comes not… |
Anonymous
Topic unknown.
いまもかもさきにほふらむたちばなの小島の崎の山吹の花
| ima mo kamo saki niFoFuramu tatibana no wozima no saki no yamabuki no Fana | Now, as always, Blossoms in full glory, among The orange blossom on Ojima Point, Kerria blooms. |
Anonymous
Composed when people stopped to view the wisteria blooming at his house.
わが宿にさけるふぢなみ立帰すぎがてにのみ人の見る覧
| wa ga yado ni sakeru Fudinami tatikaFeri sugigate ni nomi Fito no miruran | At my house Bloom wisteria waves, Breaking and returning; Simply impossible to pass by Folk find the sight, it seems. |
Mitsune
A party of ladies on their way home from Shiga came into the precincts of the Kazan temple and stood for a while beneath the wisteria; when they had gone, he composed this and sent it to them.
よそに見てかへらん人にふぢの花はひまつはれよ枝はおるとも
| yoso ni mite kaFeran Fito ni Fudi no Fana FaFimatuFare yo eda Fa oru tomo | A casual glance, and Then those girls are gone; O, wisteria blooms, Twine around and hold them here, Though your branches break… |
Archbishop Henjō
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
吹風と谷の水としなかりせば深山がくれの花を見ましや
| Fuku kaze to tani no midu to si nakariseba miyama gakure no Fana wo mimasi ya | The gusting wind and The valley’s waters Were there none, then Hidden in the mountains’ depths These blossoms – would any wish to see them? |
Tsurayuki
Composed when he had gone to a temple in the mountains.
宿りして春の山辺にねたる夜は夢の内にも花ぞちりける
| yadori site Faru no yamabe ni netaru yo Fa yume no uti ni mo Fana zo tirikeru | Lodging here Upon a mountainside in springtime, Sleeping at night Even my dreams are full Of scattered blossom. |
Tsurayuki
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
春の野に若菜つまむと来し物をちりかふ花に道はまどひぬ
| Faru no no ni wakana tumamu to koshi mono wo tirikaFu Fana ni miti Fa madoFinu | To the meadows in springtime Thinking to pick fresh herbs Did I come, but Amongst the scattered blossom Have I lost my way. |
Tsurayuki
Composed when it was said that a poetry competition was to be held at the residence of the Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber in the Ninna period.[1]
おしと思心は糸によられなん散る花ごとに貫きてとどめむ
| oshi to omoFu kokoro Fa ito ni yorarenan tiru Fana goto ni nukite todomemu | If regrets Within my heart should into threads Be spun, then Through every scattered blossom Would I sew to hold them here… |
Sosei
[1] It was taboo to record the personal names of noble women of high rank unless they were made empress. The Ninna 仁和 period began on the 11th day of the Third Month, 885, and lasted until the 30th day of the Fifth Month, 889. ‘Lady of the Bedchamber’ (miyasudokoro 御息所) was a title given to imperial consorts who had given birth to a prince, while ‘Middle Captain’ (chūjō 中将) was a military position in the palace guards. Contemporary readers would have been able to identify who the ‘Lady who had given birth to an imperial prince and whose father held the position of Middle Captain during the Ninna period’ was, but modern scholarship has not done so; nor have records of this poetry competition survived.
Topic unknown.
ちる花をなにかうら見む世中にわが身もともにあらむものか
| tiru Fana wo nani uramimu yo no naka ni wa ga mi mo tomo ni aramu mono ka | Why, the scattered blossom Should I despise? For in this mundane world Will I, too, with it Endure? |
Anonymous
Topic unknown.
駒並めていざ見にゆかむ古里は雪とのみこそ花はちるらめ
| koma namete iza mi ni yukamu Furusato Fa yuki to nomi koso Fana Fa tirurame | Line up our mounts, and Let’s go to see An ancient estate with A blizzard of Blossom, scattered all around! |
Anonymous