Cathay Folk 唐人
から国の人にとひてや我がごとく世にすみつかぬたぐひあるやと
karaguni no hito ni toite ya wa ga gotoku yo ni sumitsukanu tagui aru ya to | Does the land of Cathay have Folk I could ask? ‘Is there one like me Dissatisfied with living in this world There, perchance?’ |
Daishin
Sages’ Dwellings 仙宮
古郷はいかになりにしをののえのくつるもしらず年のへぬれば
furusato wa ika ni narinishi ono no e no kutsuru mo shirazu toshi no henureba | My home, O, what has become of it? My axe handle Rotting, I noticed not, and So the years passed by… |
Daishin
The Seventh Night 七夜
つるの子のちとせをふべきはじめとは七日よりこそ祝ひ初めけれ
tsuru no ko no chitose o fubeki hajime to wa nanuka yori koso iwaisomekere | A crane chick Shall through a thousand years pass; The beginning is From this seventh day, for sure, as We begin our celebration! |
Daishin
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
Coming of Age 元服
むらさきのはつもとゆひにむすびおかんつるばみの衣ちとせふるまで
murasaki no hatsu motoyui ni musubiokan tsurubami no kinu chitose furu made | With violet was Your first topknot Tied for now; May you wear noble, dark grey garb Until a thousand years have passed! |
Daishin
Waterweed 萍
うき草のうき世の中としりながらのがれもやらぬ我ぞかなしき
ukikusa no ukiyo no naka to shirinagara nogare mo yaranu ware zo kanashiki | A waterweed This cruel, transient world Knows well; With no way to escape it, Sunk in sadness am I… |
Daishin
Dwarf Bamboo 小篠
あさまだきをざさが原を分けゆけば露けぎ袖を人やとがめん
asa madaki ozasa ga hara o wakeyukeba tsuyukeki sode o hito ya togamen | Just before the break of dawn Through a grove of dwarf bamboo Do I forge my way, so Will my dew-drenched sleeves By folk be condemned? |
Daishin
Katsura 桂
久かたの月のかつらはとことはに色もかはらぬ物とこそきけ
hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa tokotowa ni iro mo kawaranu mono to koso kike | The eternal Moon’s silver trees: Everlastingly Unchanged are their hues, Or so I’ve heard! |
Daishin
Sakaki 榊
ちはやぶる神のしめさす榊葉のさかゆく御代にあふぞうれしき
chihayaburu kami no shimesasu sakakiba no sakayuku miyo ni au zo ureshiki | The mighty Gods’ own Leaves of the sacred tree An ever-flourishing reign Reveal – how pleasant! |
Daishin
Shrines 社
ゆふだすきかけてたのめど我がためはねぎごときかぬ社なりけり
yūdasuki kakete tanomedo wa ga tame wa negi gotoki kanu yashiro narikeri | Mulberry cord garlands I hang and plead, yet For me, they Cannot be as a priest At a shrine… |
Daishin
'Simply moving and elegant'