Falling Leaves
濡色の錦を庭に敷くものは時雨に競ふ紅葉なりけり
| nure’iro no nishiki o niwa ni shiku mono wa shigure ni kiou momiji narikeri | Damp dark the hues Of brocade upon the grounds: Spread by A struggle with the showers Are scarlet leaves. |
Higo, from the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent
京極関白家肥後
Sleet
冬寒み風もとまらぬ山里にいとど霙ぞ降りまさりける
| fuyu samumi kaze mo tomaranu yamazato ni itodo mizore zo furimasarikeru |
How cold the winter With unending wind Round my mountain home, where The sleet ever Stronger falls. |
Higo, from the Resisdence of the Kyōgoku Regent
京極関白家肥後
玉鉾の朝行く道の小笹原わくるもす裾に霜冴えにけり
| tamahoko no asa yuku michi no ozasawara wakuru mo suso ni shimo saenikeri |
Jewelled-spear straight My morning’s path through The groves of young broad-leaved bamboo; Forging through upon my hem How chill lies the frost! |
Higo
The Ninth Day of the Ninth Month
折る菊の露に濡れぬる今日よりや千年の秋に逢はむとすらむ
| oru kiku no tsuyu ni nurenuru kyō yori ya chitose no aki ni awamu to suramu |
Picked chrysanthemums’ Dew dampens us Today – will we For a thousand years of autumns Decide to meet together? |
Higo, from the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent
京極関白家肥後
薄く濃きおなじ梢の柞原分きて時雨の降るにやあるらむ
| usuku koki onaji kozue no hahasowara wakite shigure no furu ni ya aruramu |
First faint, then clear, The selfsame treetops of The oaks Divided, in the showers’ Fall do seem… |
Higo
京極関白家肥後
山里の葎の垣に這ふ蔦の色にて秋の深きをぞ知る
| yamazato no mugura no kaki ni hau tsuta no iro nite aki no fukaki wo zo shiru |
Upon this moutain hut’s Weed-tangled fence Trails ivy: Its hue autumn’s Depth does reveal! |
Higo
京極関白家肥後
里遠み山田の庵は稲妻の光のもるをともと見るかな
| sato tōmi yamada no io wa inazuma no hikari no moru o tomo to miru kana |
Far from home In the mountain fields a hut By lightning’s Light is drenched, Which we watch together. |
Higo, from the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent
京極関白家肥後
故郷を尋る道にかき暮し群雲さわく夕立の空
| furusato o tazunuru michi ni kakikurashi muragumo sawagu yūdachi no sora |
My ancient home Is visited by paths Dragged into darkness by The crowding clouds In a sky of evening showers. |
Higo
人よりも頼みぞかくる葵草分きても神のしるし見せなむ
| hito yori mo tanomi zo kakuru aoigusa wakite mo kami no shirushi misenamu |
Rather than the folk, Their prayers are hidden by Hollyhocks: Part them and the Gods’ Sign is revealed… |
Higo
京極関白家肥後
見渡せばむかひの岡の夏草を鷹がふ駒のために刈るらむ
| miwataseba mukai no oka no natsu kusa o takagau koma no tame ni karuramu |
When I gaze across The distant hills, The summer grass: The falconers’ mounts Seem a reason to reap it! |
Higo
京極関白家肥後