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.
When she presented a hundred poem sequence.
まどちかき竹のはすさぶ風のおとにいとどみじかきうたたねの夢
mado chikaki take no ha susabu kaze no oto ni itodo mijikaki utatane no yume Close by my window The bamboo leaves rustle cheerily In the wind— How very brief Is a dream when dozing.
Princess Shokushi
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 .
Flutes 笛
ことわりや宿につくりし竹なれば笛のねにてもそめるなりけり
kotowari ya yado ni tsukurishi take nareba fue no ne nite mo someru narikeri How natural it is—that My house was built Of bamboo, so The strains of a flute Have dyed it!
Tadafusa
Felicitations 賀
つきもせぬ君がよはひはいくちよとかぎれる竹の枝にやあるらん
tsuki mo senu kimi ga yowai wa iku chiyo to kagireru take no eda ni ya aruran Inexhaustible is My Lord’s age: How many thousand generations Limit it – a bamboo Branch might know!
Daishin
Felicitations 賀
我が君をいはひこめつつ竹の枝ちよとちぎるはうれしかりけり
wa ga kimi o iwaikometsutsu take no eda chiyo to chigiru wa ureshikarikeri For My Lord While deep in celebration Upon a branch of bamboo ‘Live a thousand generations!’ I vow – What joy!
Higo
Preparing Tribute 貢調
笛竹のつかひはいつかこちくらんあなまちどほの道のあひだや
fue take no tsukai wa itsuka kochi kuran ana machidō no michi no aida ya Blowing on his bamboo flute When will the messenger Arrive here? O, the wait feels as long As the roads he travels on!
Kanemasa
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'Simply moving and elegant'