Composed at the Kameyama mansion, in the Eighth Month, Kenji 2 [September 1276], when the first topic announced was ‘the colour of pines floating on a pond’.
池水に松のちとせをうつしても君にふたたびあふがうれしさ
| ikemizu ni matsu no chitose o utsushitemo kimi ni futatabi au ga ureshiki | In the pond waters The pine’s thousand years Are reflected, yet Once more, my Lord, To meet you brings me joy! |
The Regent and Former Prime Minister
摂政前太政大臣
Composed for Her Majesty, to say that this year, she had the liberty to bond with the blossoms.
しらくもにまがふさくらのこずゑにてちとせの春をそらにしるかな
| sirakumo ni magaFu sakura no kodue nite titose no Faru wo sora ni siru kana | The clouds, so white Blend with the cherry blossom Treetops— Are a thousand years of springtimes Known in the skies, I wonder! |
Chūnagon, in service to Empress Taikenmon’in
待賢門院中納言
On an old woman wiping her face with chrysanthemum dew on the ninth day of the Ninth Month.
けふまでに我をおもへば菊の上の露は千年の玉にざりける
| kyō made ni ware o omoeba kiku no ue no tsuyu wa chitose no tama nizarikeru | Up until this day Have you thought of me, so Upon the chrysanthemums These dewdrops, thousand year Jewels do not seem to be. |
Ki no Tsurayuki
Cranes in a garden (庭上鶴馴)
Left
庭の面に人になれたるあしたづはよはひをきみにゆづるなるべし
| niwa no omo ni hito ni naretaru ashitazu wa yowai o kimi ni yuzurunarubeshi | Upon this garden’s face stands, Accustomed to folk, A crane; His years to my Lord Will he bestow, no doubt! |
A Court Lady
31
Right
千とせふるやどのけしきやしるからん汀のたづのなれにけるかな
| chitose furu yado no keshiki ya shirukaran migiwa no tazu no narenikeru kana | Is it that a thousand years old This dwelling does appear? For to the muddy Water’s edge the cranes Have become accustomed! |
A Court Lady
32
Pine seedlings on the Day of the Rat (子日小松)
Left
ねの日する松の葉ごとにかぞふれば猶ぞつきせぬきみが千とせは
| ne no hi suru matsu no ha goto ni kazoureba nao zo tsukisenu kimi ga chitose wa | On this Day of the Rat Every single pine needle I count, but Still the number would not exhaust The millennia of my Lord… |
A Court Lady
1
Right
はるかなる君がよはひにくらべむと子日の松をけふは引くかな
| harukanaru kimi ga yowai ni kurabemu to ne no hi no matsu o kyō wa hiku kana | Distant is My Lord’s age: To what might it compare? Why The Rat Day pines that We pick today! |
A Court Lady
2