When the Kōshin rite was celebrated at the Koichijō mansion on the Fifth Day of the Fifth Month.
やどの上に山ほとゝぎすきなくなり今日はあやめの根のみと思ふに
yado no uFe ni
yama Fototogisu
kinakunari
keFu Fa ayame no
ne nomi to omoFu |
Above the house
A mountain cuckoo
Has come to sing;
On this day iris
Roots, alone, would be there, I thought. |
あやめふくかやが軒端に風過ぎてしどろに落つる村雨の露
ayame fuku
kaya ga nokiba ni
kaze sugite
shidoro ni otsuru
murasame no tsuyu |
Sweet-flags thrust within
The thatched eaves’ edge, and
Below them blows the wind,
Dropping in disarray
The cloudburst’s dewdrops. |
Composed on ayame (sweet flags) for the Fifth Day of the Fifth Month.
けふかくる袂に根ざせ菖蒲草憂は我身にありと志らずや
keFu kakuru
tamoto ni ne zase
ayamegusa
uki Fa wa ga mi ni
ari to sirazu ya |
Today, we hang you up, so
In my sleeve take root,
O Sweet flags!
My body is a thing of clay,
Don’t you know? |
The Monk Dōin
'Simply moving and elegant'