At a time when he produced a Hundred Poem Sequence, His Majesty composed this as a poem on orange blossoms.
五月雨にはなたちばなのかをる夜は月すむ秋もさもあらばあれ
samidare ni
hanatachibana no
kaoru yo wa
tsuki sumu aki mo
sa mo araba are | Early summer showers fall, and
Orange blossom
Scents the night;
The clear, bright moon of autumn
Hardly seems to match it… |
Emperor Sutoku
Composed on the conception of a pillow scented with orange blossom.
をりしもあれ花たちばなのかをるかなむかしをみつる夢の枕に
orishi mo are
hanatachibana no
kaoru kana
mukashi o mitsuru
yume no makura ni | In days gone by and yet now still
Orange blossoms
Do I scent!
A love long gone I glimpse when
Dreaming on my pillow. |
Fujiwara no Kinhira
Topic unknown.
わがやどの花たちばなにふく風をたが里よりとたれながむらん
wa ga yado no
hanatachibana ni
fuku kaze o
ta ga sato yori to
tare nagamuran | From my home
The scent of orange blossom
Is carried on the breeze;
Will you wonder from whose house it came
Lost in pensive thoughts? |
Major Controller of the Left Chikamune
Topic unknown.
風にちるはなたちばなに袖しめてわがおもふいもが手枕にせん
kaze ni chiru
hanatachibana ni
sode shimete
wa ga omou imo ga
tamakura ni sen | Scattered on the breeze
Orange blossoms’ scent
Has sunk into my sleeves,
So to my darling girl
My arm as a pillow will I proffer. |
Fujiwara no Mototoshi
Ancient Estates 故郷
よもぎ分けたづねぞきぬる古郷は花たちばなのかをしるべにて
yomogi wake
tazune zo kinuru
furusato wa
hanatachibana no
ka o shirube nite | Forging through the mugwort
To visit have I come
To this ancient estate, with
Orange blossom’s
Scent as my guide… |
Daishin
夏さはし花橘の移り香はさもあらぬ人の名も立ちぬべし
natsu sawashi
hanatachibana no
utsurika wa
sa mo aranu hito no
na mo tachinubeshi |
In the summer shade,
Orange blossoms’
Drifting scent
Clings not to one who
Now will certainly be mentioned! |
Minamoto no Kuninobu
源国信
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
宿ごとに花橘ぞ匂ひける人聞かずゑに風は吹けども
yado goto ni
hanatachibana zo
nioikeru
hito kikazue ni
kaze wa fukedomo |
Round every dwelling is
Orange blossoms’
Scent;
Folk pay no heed, yet
The breeze blows on… |
Fujiwara no Kinzane (1053-1107)
藤原公実
時鳥花橘の香を求めて鳴くは昔の人や恋しき
Fototogisu
Fanatatibana no
ka wo tomete
naku Fa mukasi no
Fito ya koFisiki |
O cuckoo,
Orange blossom
Scent do you summon
With your song;
Are folk from times long gone fondly in your thoughts? |
常盤なる花橘に時鳥鳴きとよめつつ千代も経ぬかな
tokiFa naru
Fanatatibana ni
Fototogisu
nakitoyometutu
tiyo mo Fenu kana |
From the eternal
Orange blossom
The cuckoo
Calls will ever resound
Though a thousand ages go by! |
'Simply moving and elegant'
