When His Majesty’s gentlemen were composing poems on love and the wind, during the reign of former emperor Toba.
おひかぜに八重のしほぢをこぐ舟のほのかにだにもあひみてしかな
| oikaze ni yae no shioji o kogu fune no honoka ni dani mo aimiteshi kana | The pursuing wind Tracks ‘cross eightfold tidal paths To reach the boat a’rowing out, Its sails, so distant, but Even a glimpse of you would do! |
Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Morotoki
Left (Tie)
あふことのいまはかたほになるふねのかざままつ身はよるかたもなし
| au koto no ima wa katao ni naru fune no kazama matsu mi wa yoru kata mo nashi | Meeting you has made me Now a reef-sailed Boat Awaiting the wind, with No course to set. |
33
Right
ねでまちしはつかのつきのはつかにもあひみしことをいつかわすれむ
| nede machishi hatsuka no tsuki no hatsuka ni mo aimishi koto o itsuka wasuremu | Sleepless I awaited The twentieth night’s moon, when In the dimness We did meet— When might I forget it? |
34
A poem on Mount Kagu by Kamo no Taruhito.
天之芳来山 霞立 春尓至婆 松風尓 池浪立而 櫻花 木乃晩茂尓 奥邊波 鴨妻喚 邊津方尓 味村左和伎 百礒城之 大宮人乃 退出而 遊船尓波 梶棹毛 無而不樂毛 己具人奈四二
天降りつく 天の香具山 霞立つ 春に至れば 松風に 池波立ちて 桜花 木の暗茂に 沖辺には 鴨妻呼ばひ 辺つ辺に あぢ群騒き ももしきの 大宮人の 退り出て 遊ぶ船には 楫棹も なくて寂しも 漕ぐ人なしに
| amorituku ame no kaguyama kiri tatu paru ni itareba matukaze ni ikenami tatite sakurabana ko no kuresige ni okipe ni pa kamo tuma yobapi petupe ni adi murasawagi momosiki no opomiyabito no makaridete asobu pune ni pa kadisawo mo nakute sabusi mo kogu pito nasi ni | Descended from heaven is Sacred Mount Kagu where Mists arise When the spring does come, The wind through the pines Raises waves from pond waters, and Cherry blossom’s Profusion shades the trees, while Out in the offing, Ducks call for a mate and On the shore Teals flock noisily; Hundredfold, The palace folk were wont to Travel out On pleasure boats, but Oars and poles Are there none—so sad— For there’s not a soul to row them… |
Left
ちらねどもかねてぞをしき紅葉ばは今はかぎりの色とみつれば
| chiranedomo kanete zo oshiki momijiba wa ima wa kagiri no iro to mitsureba | Not fallen yet Even now is there something to regret In the scarlet autumn leaves, For already the utmost of Their hues do I see, so… |
96[1]
Right
白波に秋の木のはのうかべるはあまのながせる舟かとぞ見る
| shiranami ni aki no ko no ha no ukaberu o ama no nagaseru fune ka to zo miru | Atop the whitecaps Autumn leaves Float as Divers’ drifting Boats seeming. |
97[2]
[1] Kokinshū V: 264/Shinsen man’yōshū 105.
[2] Kokinshū V: 301, attributed to Fujiwara no Okikaze/Kokin rokujō III: 1825, attributed to Kiyowara no Fukayabu.
Autumn
Left
秋の夜の有明にみれど久堅の月のかつらはうつろはぬかな
| aki no yo no ariake ni miredo hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa utsurouwanu kana | An autumn night’s Dawn I see, yet The eternal Moon’s silver trees Show no sign of fading! |
13
秋萩の花咲く比の白露は下ばのためとわきて置くべし
| aki hagi no hana saku koro no shiratsuyu wa shitaba no tame to wakite okubeshi | In autumn, the bush clover Flowers bloom—just then Silver dewdrops For the under-leaves Do fall, marking every one. |
14
秋風はいなばもそよとふきつめりかりみる程と成りやしぬらん
| akikaze wa inaba mo soyo to fukitsumeri kari miru hodo to nari ya shinuran | The autumn breeze Seems to rustle the rice stalks As it blows; Seeing if ‘tis time to reap them— Is that what it is, I wonder? |
15
Right
銀河とわたる舟は花薄ほにいづるほどぞかげもみゆべき
| ama no kawa towataru fune wa hanasusuki ho ni izuru hodo zo kage mo miyubeki | Across the River of Heaven A boat goes ferrying: When the silver grass Ears burst into bloom, Can its shape be seen. |
16
女郎花さがの花をば色ながら秋をさかりといはれずもがな
| ominaeshi saga no hana oba iro nagara aki o sakari to iwarezu mogana | Maidenflowers: Blossoms from Saga Reveal their hues, and In autumn are most fine—that Goes without saying! |
17
小男鹿の朝たつ霧にうりふ山嶺の梢は色こかりけり
| saoshika no asa tatsu kiri ni urifuyama mine no kozue wa iro kokarikeri | Stags Within the rising morning mist on Urifu Moutain, where The treetops on the peak Have taken darker hues. |
18
Wisteria blooming by a river bank
Left
さだめなく吹く風なれば池水のきしをめぐりてよする藤なみ
| sadamenaku fuku kaze nareba ikemizu no kishi o megurite yosuru Fujinami | Inconstant is The gusting wind, so By the pondwater’s Bank and all along it Break wisteria waves… |
Fujiwara no Munenari
11
Right
藤なみのかからぬ岸のなければやこぎくる舟のよるひまのなき
| fujinami no kakaranu kishi no nakereba ya kogikuru fune no yoru hima no naki | Untouched by wisteria waves Such a bank Is there not one? Come rowing, the boats Have not a moment to make shore. |
Lesser Superintendant Fujiwara no Sadamitsu
12
