When I was viewing the moon from beneath the blossom.
くもにまがふ花のしたにてながむればおぼろに月は見ゆるなりける
kumo ni magau
hana no shita nite
nagamureba
oboro ni tsuki wa
miyuru narikeru | Mistaking them for clouds
Beneath the blossom
I gaze, so
Misty the moon
Does appear… |
90
おもひやるたかねのくものはなならばちらぬなぬかははれじとぞ思ふ
omoiyaru
takane no kumo no
hana naraba
chiranu nanuka wa
hareji to zo omou | Wondering
If the clouds upon the high peaks
Are blossom, if so
For the seven days they scatter not
They’ll not clear away at all…[i] |
81
[i] It was a long-standing belief that blossom lasted for seven days before it scattered. See: 吾去者 七日不過 竜田彦 勤此花乎 風尓莫落
wa ga yuki wa
nanuka wa sugiji
tatsutahiko
yume kono hana o
kaze ni na chirashi | My journey
Will not pass seven days, so
O, Tatsutahiko,
I beg you these blossoms
Do not scatter with your winds! |
Takahashi no Mushimaro Kashū
Man’yōshū IX: 1748
When I composed many poems on blossom.
よしの山くもをはかりにたづねいりてこころにかけし花をみるかな
yoshinoyama
kumo o hakari ni
tazune’irite
kokoro ni kakeshi
hana o miru kana | To the Yoshino Mountains,
Guided by the clouds
I went a’visiting,
My heart stirred
By the sight of blossom! |
62
そらにいでていづくともなくたづぬればくもとははなの見ゆるなりけり
sora ni idete
izuku tomonaku
tazunureba
kumo to wa hana no
miyuru narikeri | Out amidst the skies
Somewhere should
I enquire, then
The clouds, as blossom
Do seem. |
60
Looking at the moon clouded by haze.
くもなくておぼろなりともみゆるかな霞かかれる春のよの月
kumo nakute
oboro nari tomo
miyuru kana
kasumi kakareru
haru no yo no tsuki | No clouds,
Yet still misted
Does it appear!
Hung with haze
The moon on a night in springtime… |
51
New Year Archery
わしといひ鷹とわかれてわたるかなけふのいく羽の雲の上人
washi to ii
taka to wakarete
wataru kana
kyō no ikuha no
kumo no uebito | Eagles, they say
Are from the hawks distinguished
As they cross!
Today how many wings are there
Of folk above the clouds! |
Kamo no Mabuchi 賀茂真淵 (1697-1769)
New Year Archery
引きつづき雲ゐのまとゐ昨日といひけふのま弓の春も珍らし
hikitsuzuki
kumoi no matoi
kinō to
ii kyō no mayumi no
haru mo mezurashi | Drawn one after another
Within the clouds the company
‘Yesterday!’ they
Said, but today fair bows
Of spring strung—so rare! |
New Year Archery
雲のうへや春のはじめの梓弓ゐまちの月にいづるもろ人
kumo no ue ya
haru no hajime no
azusayumi
imachi no tsuki ni
izuru morobito | Above the clouds,
At the start of spring,
With catalpa bows
Beneath the eighteenth night’s moon
Emerge the crowds! |
New Year Archery
くれかかる雲ゐの庭の継射にたちいづる袖のめづらしきかな
kurekakaru
kumoi no niwa no
keisha ni
tachi’izuru sode no
mezurashiki kana | Twilight draws in,
Clouds above the grounds, where
Shooting in turns,
Sleeves are raised—
A rare sight! |
Sanjōnishi Sanetaka 三条西実隆 (1455-1537)
New Year Archery
たちわたる春のまといのともねまできこえて高き雲の上人
tachiwataru
haru no matoi no
tomone made
kikoete takaki
kumo no uebito | Arriving all around
With spring the company,
Bracers together:
The raised voices of
The folk above the clouds! |
Shōtetsu 正徹 (1381-1459)
'Simply moving and elegant'
