Falling Blossom (落花)
庭もせにちりしく花のしろければ雪ふるとしの心ちこそすれ
| niwamose ni chirishiku hana no shirokereba yuki furu toshi no kokochi koso sure | My narrow strip of ground, Spread with drifts of blossom Is so white, that This year snow has fallen Do I truly feel! |
Higo
Peach Blossom (桃花)
我がそのの桃のはつ花さきにけりみちよすぐべき春のしるしか
| wa ga sono no momo no hatsuhana sakinikeri michiyo sugubeki haru no shirushi ka | In my garden The first peach blossoms Have bloomed! Can three thousand generations have passed Afore this symbol of spring? |
Higo
Scarlet Plum (紅梅)
たぐひなきかをりにそへていとどしくくれなゐふかくにほふ梅かな
| taguinaki kaori ni soete itodoshiku kurenai fukaku niou ume kana | Peerless, The scent brushes by, and Eventually, With deep scarlet Glows the plum! |
Higo
Blossom not yet in Bloom (未発花)
何ゆゑか春をばまたで山ざくら心もとなくにほふはなかな
| nani yue ka haru oba matade yamazakura kokoromotonaku niou hana kana | Why is it that for Spring you have not waited, O, mountain cherry? Uneasily The blossoms gleam… |
Higo
The Iwashimizu Special Festival (石清水臨時祭)
きみがよののどけきかげをくみみれば流たえせぬ石清水かな
| kimi ga yo no nodokeki kage o kumi mireba nagare taesenu iwashimizu kana | When, My Lord, your reign’s Calm light I gather all together, in my sight is The endless current Of Iwashimizu. |
Higo
New Year Archery
霞しくはるのはじめのあづさ弓もろやしつるぞうれしかりける
| kasumishiku haru no hajime no azusayumi moroya shitsuru zo ureshikarikeru | Hazy Spring starts with Catalpa bows; Pairing up my arrows, How happy I am! |
Higo
Spring Dawn
あづさ弓はるかにみれば山のはによこ雲わたるあけぼののそら
| azusayumi haruka ni mireba yama no ha ni yokogumo wataru akebono no sora | A catalpa bow Seen in the distance: Across the mountains’ edge Trail streaks of cloud in The sky at dawn. |
Higo
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