On the spirit of chanting the name of the Buddha, against all odds, as in the Lotus Sutra.
ふかきよのまどうつ雨にをとせぬはうきよをのきのしのぶなりけり
fukaki yo no
mado utsu ame ni
oto senu wa
uki yo o noki no
shinobu narikeri |
In the depths of night
The rains striking ‘gainst my window
Make no sound–
From this cruel world I have left,
And try to remain so. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
Topic unknown.
なみだがは身もうきぬべきねざめかなはかなき夢のなごりばかりに
namidagawa
mi mo ukinubeki
nezame kana
hakanaki yume no
nagori bakari ni |
A river of tears-
Enough that my breast should float-
I find on waking;
My fleeting dream’s
Only remnant. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
Composed on the moon as a friend over many autumns at the poetry competition in the Poetry Office on the evening of the 15th of the Eighth Month.
たかさごの松もむかしになりぬべしなをゆくすゑは秋のよの月
takasago no
matsu mo mukashi ni
narinubeshi
nao yukusue wa
aki no yo no tsuki |
The Takasago
Pines will in the past
Recede, no doubt;
Still into the future passes
The moon on Autumn nights. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
Composed on the spirit of the year’s end by the seashore, at the home of the Tsuchimikado Grand Minister (Minamoto no Michichika (1149-1202)).
おいのなみこえける身こそあはれなれことしも今はすゑの松山
oi no nami
koekeru mi koso
awarenare
kotoshi mo ima wa
sue no matsuyama |
Eld in waves
Doth break upon my breast, and
I am sorrow-struck, indeed;
For this year, now is the
End, the peak of Matsuyama. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
At a time when the Regent and Grand Minister was a colonel, he had this composed for him as part of a hundred poem sequence.
かさゝぎの雲のかけはし秋くれて夜半には霜やさえわたるらん
kasasagi no
kumo no kakewashi
aki kurete
yowa ni wa shimo ya
saewataruran |
The magpies’
Bridge, spans the clouds,
And at the end of autumn
In night’s depths, is it the frost
That falls all around. |
The Monk Jakuren (d. 1202)
寂蓮
When he presented a fifty poem sequence.
むらさめのつゆもまだひぬまきの葉にきりたちのぼる秋の夕ぐれ
murasame no
tsuyu mo mada hinu
maki no ha ni
kiri tachinoboru
aki no yūgure |
A sudden shower’s
Damp has not yet dried;
Among the evergreens
Mists rise
On this Autumn evening. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
Topic unknown.
さびしさはその色としもなかりけりま木たつ山の秋のゆふぐれ
sabishisa wa
sono iro to shi mo
nakarikeri
mako tatsu yama no
aki no yūgure |
Loneliness:
The feeling came
From nowhere I can name;
On an evergreen covered mountain
On an autumn evening. |
The Monk Jakuren ( – 1202)
寂蓮
When he presented a fifty poem sequence.
くれてゆく春のみなとはしらねどもかすみにおつるうぢのしばぶね
kurete yuku
haru no minato wa
shiranedomo
kasumi ni otsuru
uji no shibabune |
Departing
Spring’s home port lies
I know not where, yet
Beneath the haze
Boats carry firewood on the Uji River. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
From the poetry contest in 1500 rounds.
ちりにけりあはれうらみのたれなれば花のあとゝふ春の山風
chirinikeri
aware urami no
tare nareba
hana no ato tou
haru no yama kaze |
They have all fallen:
Your despite
Is aimed at who? That
On the flowers’ remnants you should call,
Mountain Spring-breeze. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
From the poetry contest in 1500 rounds.
おもひたつとりはふるすもたのむらんなれぬる花のあとのゆふぐれ
omoi tatsu
tori wa furu su mo
tanomuran
narenuru hana no
ato no yûgure |
Of a mind to depart,
A bird his former nest
Will always find;
Accustomed to the blossoms
On this evening they are gone… |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮
'Simply moving and elegant'