Hair.
ねくたれのかみけづるよもあはざればこひしきものをけふはくらしつ
nekutare no
kami kezuru yo mo
awazareba
koishiki mono o
kyō wa kurashitsu | My sleep-tangled
Hair I comb tonight, even though
We have not met, so
The one I love will be
In my thoughts all day long. |
Anonymous
しとみ山おろしの風のはやければかぜにはつねになきてこそふれ
shitomiyama
oroshi no kaze no
hayakereba
kaze ni hatsune ni
nakite koso fure | Up and down the mountain
Tumbles the wind,
So fierce that
The first sound in it
Is weeping… |
かすが野にけぶりたつみゆをとめごしはるののおはぎつみてくるらし
kasugano ni
keburi tatsu miyu
otomego shi
haruno no ohagi
tsumitekururashi | Above Kasuga Plain
I see the smoke a’rising;
The maidens
To the springtime fields asters
A’picking have come, it seems! |
Dwellings.
つれづれと年ふるやどはむまたまのよもひもながくなりぬべらなり
tsurezure to
toshi furu yado wa
mumatama no
yo mo hi mo nagaku
narinubernari | Ever unchanging
Through the passing years, for this dwelling
Lily-seed dark
Night and daytime, too, endlessly
Seem to go on and on. |
Mirrors
かはとだにかがみにみゆるものならばわするるほどもあらましものを
kawa to dani
kagami ni miyuru
mono naraba
wasururu hodo mo
aramashi mono o | If a river does even
A mirror seem
To be, then
When I am forgotten
I would have it, at least, remain… |
まきもくのひばらの霞たちかへりみれども花におどろかれつつ
makimoku no
hibara no kasumi
tachikaeri
miredomo hana ni
odorokaretsutsu | In Makimoku among
The cypress groves the haze
Rises and departs;
I see it, yet the blossom is
Ever a source of amazement… |
夏の夜の霜やおけるとみるまでに荒れたる宿を照す月かげ
natsu no yo no
shimo ya okeru to
miru made ni
aretaru yado o
terasu tsukikage | Upon a summer night
That frost has fallen
It does appear at
A ruined dwelling where
The moonlight shines. |
霜のうへにふる初雪の朝氷とけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
shimo no ue ni
furu hatsuyuki no
asagōri
tokemu hodo koso
hisashikarikere | Upon the frosts
Falls first snow, turning
Icy in the morning;
The time when it will melt is
Far away, indeed. |
秋きぬとめにはさやかにみえねども風の音にぞおどろかれぬる
aki kinu to
me ni wa sayaka ni
mienedomo
kaze no oto ni zo
odorokarenuru | That autumn has come
With my eyes, clearly,
I cannot see, yet
The sound of the wind
Has startled me. |
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
年のうちに春はきにけりひととせをこぞとやいはん今年とやいはん
toshi no uchi ni
haru wa kinikeri
hito tose o
kozo to ya iwan
kotoshi to ya iwan | Within the year
Spring has come once more, so
A single year:
Should I say ‘tis last year, or
Should I say ‘tis this one? |
Ariwara no Motokata
'Simply moving and elegant'