A poem from Hitachi.
つくばねの峰のもみぢ葉落ちつもり知るも知らぬもなべてかなしも
| tukubane no mine no momidiba otitumori siru mo siranu mo nabete kanasi mo | On Tsukuba Mountain’s High peak, the scarlet leaves Have fallen, piled high Knowing it, or knowing not All is sad, just the same. |
Anonymous
Topic unknown.
あしがものさわぐ入江の白浪のしらずや人をかくこひむとは
| asigamo no sawagu irie no siranami no sirazu ya Fito wo kaku koFimu to Fa | Among the reed-beds ducks Cry noisily with the inlet washed By whitecaps: I never expected that I would love her so… |
Anonymous
A utensil bearer’s poem.
み山にはあられふるらしとやまなるまさきのかづらいろづきにけり
| miyama ni Fa arare Fururasi toyama naru masaki no kadura irodukinikeri | Upon the sacred mountain Hail has fallen, it seems, For on the distant slopes The evergreen kazura trees Have changed their hues. |
Anonymous
On the day when the following day would mark the beginning of spring, he saw the snow being blown by the wind from the house next door, so he composed this and sent it over.
冬ながら春の隣のちかければなかがきよりぞ花はちりける
| Fuyu nagara Faru no tonari no tikakereba nakagaki yori zo Fana wa tirikeru | ‘Tis winter, yet Spring as a neighbour Lies so close, so From the fence between Blossom has scattered. |
Kiyowara no Fukayabu
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
春霞たなびく野べの若菜にもなり見てし哉人も摘むやと
| Farugasumi tanabiku nobe no wakana ni mo narimitesigana Fito mo tumu ya to | Spring haze Drifting through the fields over The new herbs I would become— For then she might pick me, perhaps… |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
秋風にほころびぬらし藤袴つづりさせてふきりぎりすなく
| akikaze ni Fokorobinurasi Fudibakama tudurisasete teFu kirigirisu naku | With the autumn breeze Seem to have bloomed and twined The asters Bound together by the rasping Crickets’ cries.[1] |
Ariwara no Muneyana
[1] This poem is composed around a dual wordplay, which I have not been able to closely replicate in the translation. Hokorobu is simultaneously both ‘bloom fully’ and ‘thread (a needle)’ while tsuzuru is both ‘sew together’ and an onomatopoeic representation of the sound that a cricket makes.
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
しら雪の八重ふりしけるかへる山かへるがへるも老いにける哉
| shirayuki no yaFe Furisikeru kaFeru yama kaFerugaFeru mo oinikeru kana | White snow Falls eightfold on Mount Return— Returning and returning again Is the age I feel! |
Ariwara no Muneyana
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
つれなきを今は恋ひじとおもへども心よはくも落ちつる涙か
| turenaki wo ima Fa koFizi to omoFedomo kokoro yoFaku mo otituru namida ka | Heartless, She has ceased to love me I know, yet Is it from my feeble heart, that These tears fall? |
Suga no Tadaomu
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
思ふてふ事の葉のみや秋をへて色もかはらぬ物にはあるらん
| omoFu teFu koto no Fa nomi ya aki wo Fete iro mo kaFaranu mono ni Fa aruran | My fond thoughts expressed In words, and leaves, simply On reaching autumn’s surfeit— Won’t they change their hues? No, that will never be. |
Anonymous
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
明けぬとて帰る道にはこきたれて雨も涙もふりそほちつつ
| akenu tote kaFeru miti ni Fa kokitarete ame mo namida mo FurisoFotitutu | ‘Tis the break of day, and On the road back home Descending sheets of Rain, and my tears, too Soak me to the skin… |
Lord Toshiyuki