Category Archives: Senzaishū

SZS V: 303

Composed when he presented a hundred poem sequence, during the reign of former Emperor Horikawa.

山ざとはさびしかりけりこがらしのふく夕ぐれのひぐらしのこゑ

yamazato Fa
sabisikarikeri
kogarasi no
Fuku yuFugure no
higurasi no kowe
A mountain retreat is
Lonely, indeed;
The biting wind
Blows of an evening with
The sundown cicadas’ cries.

Fujiwara no Nakazane
藤原仲実

SZS XII: 766

Composed as a love poem.

よもすがら物思ふころはあけやらぬねやのひまさへつれなかりけり

yomosugara
mono’omoFu koro wa
akeyaranu
neya no Fima saFe
turenakarikeri
Night after night,
Sunk in gloomy thoughts which
Never lift,
The time spent in my bed
Is tedious, indeed!

Monk Shun’e

SZS III: 176

At a time when he produced a Hundred Poem Sequence, His Majesty composed this as a poem on orange blossoms.
五月雨にはなたちばなのかをる夜は月すむ秋もさもあらばあれ

samidare ni
hanatachibana no
kaoru yo wa
tsuki sumu aki mo
sa mo araba are
Early summer showers fall, and
Orange blossom
Scents the night;
The clear, bright moon of autumn
Hardly seems to match it…

Emperor Sutoku

SZS III: 137

Composed on the conception of changing into summer clothes, when a Hundred Poem Sequence was presented to His Majesty, Emperor Horikawa.

けふかふるせみの羽ごろもきてみればたもとに夏はたつにぞ有りける

kyō kauru
semi no hagoromo
kitemireba
tamoto ni natsu wa
tatsu ni zo arikeru
With the change today,
A robe of cicada wings
I do put on and see
Upon my sleeves that summer
Has, indeed, arrived!

Fujiwara no Mototoshi

SZS III: 136

Composed on the conception of changing into summer clothes, when a Hundred Poem Sequence was presented to His Majesty, Emperor Horikawa.
夏ごろもはなのたもとにぬぎかへて春のかたみもとまらざりけり

natsugoromo
hana no tamoto ni
nugikaete
haru no katami mo
tomarazarikeri
For summer garb
Blossom-laden sleeves
I remove, and with the change
Those keepsakes of springtime
Fail to linger on.

Former Middle Counsellor Masafusa