Bamboo
Left
つゆもおけとなびくものからたけのはのいろうつろへるあきもみぬかな
| tsuyu mo oke to nabiku mono kara take no ha no iro utsuroeru aki mo minu kana | ‘Fall, O, dewdrops!’, I say, then Weighed down The bamboo leaves’ Hues fading I’ll see not this autumn! |
18
Asters
Right
あきののにいろなきつゆはおきしかどわかむらさきに花はそみけり
| aki no no ni iro naki tsuyu wa okishikado wakamurasaki ni hana wa somikeri | Upon the autumn meadows Colourless dew Has fallen, yet With pale violet Have the blooms been dyed. |
18
When a man who had come to see her around the Eighth Month left behind his fan, which was decorated with a picture of bamboo leaves spotted with dewdrops, after some time had passed, she returned it, with this.
しののめにおきてわかれし人よりはひさしくとまる竹の葉の露
| shinonome ni okite wakareshi hito yori wa hisashiku tomaru take no ha no tsuyu | At the break of dawn He rose and left— That man, but Much longer lingered Dewdrops on the bamboo leaves. |
Izumi Shikibu
Topic unknown.
木にもあらず草にもあらぬ竹のよのはしにわが身はなりぬべらなり
| ki ni mo arazu kusa ni mo aranu take no yo no hasi ni wa ga mi Fa narinuberanari | ’Tis not a tree, Nor yet a grass, but On bamboo stalks Brief as the space between the joints Does seem to be my fate… |
Anonymous
A certain person states that this is a poem by Prince Takatsu.
Left
月夜には花とぞ見ゆる竹のうへに降りしく雪を誰かはらはむ
| tsukiyo ni wa hana to zo miyuru take no ue ni furishiku yuki o tare ka harawamu | On a moonlit night As blossom it appears, so From the bamboo The fallen, scattered, snow— Who would sweep it away? |
151
Right
しら雪を分けてわかるるかたみには袖に涙のこほるなりけり
| shirayuki o wakete wakaruru katami ni wa sode ni namida no kōru narikeri | That through the snow so white I pressed on, forging, A keepsake is The tears upon my sleeves, All frozen. |
152
Flutes 笛
まきの戸をあけがたにても笛竹のこちくの声ぞ人だのめなる
| maki no to o akegata nite mo fuetake no kochiku no koe zo hito danomenaru | By my door of cedar wood At the edge of dawn A bamboo Flute’s notes denote A trustworthy man, indeed![1] |
Daishin
[1] An allusive variation on Kintō-shū 511.