On hearing a cuckoo when I was alone on a night when it was raining heavily.
郭公なくこゑあやな五月やみきく人なしみあめは降りつつ
hototogisu
naku koe ayana
satsuki yami
kiku hito nashi mi
ame wa furitsutsu | O, cuckoo,
Giving call is strange, indeed,
In the drizzling dark,
For there is none to hear you,
In the ever falling rain… |
さ月やみさよふけぬらし時鳥神なび山におのが妻よぶ
satsuki yami
sayo fukenurashi
hototogisu
kaminabiyama ni
ono ga tsuma yobu | In the drizzling dark
It seems brief night has fallen, for
A cuckoo
On the sacred mount
Is calling for his mate. |
五月やみ神なびやまのほととぎす妻ごひすらし鳴くねかなしも
satsuki yami
kaminabiyama no
hototogisu
tsumagoisurashi
naku ne kanashi mo | In the drizzling dark
On the sacred mount
A cuckoo
Longs for his mate, it seems, for
The calls he cries are truly so sad… |
A cuckoo in the depths of night.
五月やみおぼつかなきに郭公ふかき峰より鳴きていづなり
satsuki yami
obotsukanaki ni
hototogisu
fukaki mine yori
nakite’izu nari | In the drizzling dark
Uncertainly
A cuckoo
From deep within the peaks
Calls out. |
皐月闇我が待つ人は来まさねと花橘の香にぞなぐさむ
satsuki yami
wa ga matsu hito wa
kimasane to
hanatachibana no
ka ni zo nagusamu |
In the summer dark
I await a man who
Now says he’ll not come;
The orange blossoms’
Scent will be my consolation… |
Ōe no Masafusa
大江匡房
鵜川には皐月の闇もなかりけりくだればくだす舟の篝火
ukawa ni wa
satsuki no yami mo
nakarikeri
kudareba kudasu
fune no kagaribi |
To the cormorant river
The Fifth Month’s dark
Has not come;
For when it falls, also do
The boats’ torches! |
Shunzei
'Simply moving and elegant'
