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
Dwarf Bamboo 小篠
ふむ人もなき庭に生ふる玉ざさのこたふばかりにふるあられかな
fumu hito mo
naki niwa ni ouru
tamazasa no
kotau bakari ni
arare kana | No folks’ feet tread
Upon these grounds where grows
Bejewelled dwarf bamboo – and
In response comes only
Hailstones! |
Nakazane
Waterfalls 滝
名にたてぬみ山がくれの滝なれどながれはさとの人にしられぬ
na ni tatenu
miyamagakure no
taki naredo
nagare wa sato no
hito ni shirarenu | No name adorns
These hidden mountain
Falls, yet
Of their flow are the estate’s
Folk all unknowing… |
Kanemasa
Lakes 水海
恋ひわぶる人にあふみの海といへどみるめはおひぬ物にぞありける
koiwaburu
hito ni ōmi no
umi to iedo
mirume wa oinu
mono ni zo arikeru | Suffering with love’s pains
Folk meet at Ōmi
Sea, they say, though
No prying eyes arise from midst the seaweed there –
‘Tis true to say! |
Daishin
Stones 石
石はさもたちける人のこころさへ かたかど有りて見えもするかな
ishi wa samo
tachikeru hito no
kokoro sae
katakado arite
mie mo suru kana | Such is the way with stones:
Should the folk who place them,
Within their hearts have but even
A trace of talent,
It is plain to see! |
Toshiyori
Hotsprings 出湯
世の人の恋のやまひの薬とや七くりのゆのわきかへるらん
yo no hito no
koi no yamai no
kusuri to ya
nanakuri no yu no
wakikaeruran | For folk in this world
Suffering love’s sickness,
Can this be a remedy?
At Nanakuri, the hotspring
Always gushes forth anew! |
Higo
Love Waiting for Someone 待人恋
すみよしの松とは人のしらねばやなみうちたえてきしもせざらん
sumiyoshi no
matsu to wa hito no
shiraneba ya
nami uchitaete
kishi mo sezaran | At Sumiyoshi are
The pines of folk
All unknowing?
The waves have stopped, and
Even the shore seems untouched. |
Tadafusa
Lacking a Glimpse of Love Letters 不見書恋
いかがせむさののふなばしさのみやはふみだにみじと人のいふべき
ikaga semu
sano no funabashi
sanomi ya wa
fumi dani miji to
hito no iubeki | O, what am I to do
At the pontoon bridge of Sano?
Simply, of
Letters there seems to be no sign, is
What folk can tell to me. |
Tadafusa
Preparing Tribute 貢調
いやしきや民のいとなく道もせにつきせず運ぶみつぎ物かな
iyashiki ya
tami no itonaku
michi mo se ni
tsukisezu hakobu
mitsukimono kana | How humble are
The folk busily
On every single road
Ceaselessly transporting
Their tributes! |
Daishin
Preparing Tribute 貢調
皇の民やすらけくをさむればひまなくはこぶ御調物かな
sumeragi no
tami yasurakeku
osamureba
himanaku hakobu
mitsukimono kana | His Majesty’s
Folk tranquilly
Prepare so,
Never-resting they transport
Their tributes! |
Higo
'Simply moving and elegant'