When I had gone to a place called the Kawara Mansion with friends to view the plum blossom, and there was no plum blossom there, only the distant sight of cherry.
春霞たちななよりそうすくこき錦とみゆる山のさくらに
| harugasumi tachi na na yori so usu koki nishiki to miyuru yama no sakura ni | O, haze of spring, Arise not and cover not, Either thick or thin, The seeming brocade of Cherry o’er the mountains… |
In the Seventh Month, Kenrayku 1 [August 1211], there were very heavy rains and, thinking that this would cause suffering to the common folk, I prayed to an image of the Buddha and, shortly after, spoke this poem.
時によりすぐれば民のなげきなり八大竜王雨やめたまへ
| toki ni yori sugureba tami no nageki nari hachi dairyūō ame yametamae | At this time, Passing, the common folk Suffer; O, Eight Great Dragon Kings,[i] Cease your rains! |
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[i] The eight Great Dragon Kings (hachi dairyūō 八大龍王) are referenced in the Lotus Sutra. They are: Ānanda 難陀 (Jp. Nanda); Upananda 跋難陀 (Jp. Batsunanda); Shāgara 娑伽羅 (Jp.Shagara); Vasuki 和修吉 (jp. Washikitsu); Takshaka 德叉迦 (Jp. Tokushaka); Anavatapta 阿那婆達多 (Jp. Anabadatta); Manasvin 摩那斯 (Jp. Manashi); and Utpalaka 優鉢羅 (Jp. Uhatsura). As can be seen from Sanetomo’s poem here, they were seen to have dominion over water—rains, rivers and the ocean—and were often invoked to either request rain or to ameliorate storms.
Composed when I saw a little child crying for his mother by the side of the road and, on asking folk nearby, being told that both his mother and father had died.
いとほしやみるに涙もとどまらずおやもなき子の母をたづぬる
| itōshi ya miru ni namida mo todomarazu oya mo naki ko no haha o tazunuru | O, how pitiful! The sight of tears Unending on An orphan child Searching for his mother… |
717
Composed when I heard that someone had died with the dawn, even though I had not heard they had been ill for several days.
聞きてしもおどろくべきにあらねどもはかなき夢の世にこそ有りけれ
| kikiteshi mo odorokubeki ni aranedomo hakanaki yume no yo ni koso arikere | When I heard the news Especially startled I was not, yet A fleeting dream This world truly is! |
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Composed and sent to a certain person’s residence to say how transient this mundane world is.
世中にかしこきこともはかなきも思ひしとけば夢にぞ有りける
| yo no naka ni kashikoki koto mo hakanaki mo omoishi tokeba yume ni zo arikeru | In this mundane world The glories and Trivialities both, When you think them over, Are but dreams… |
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