Left
さよふけてなどかなくらむほととぎすたびねのやどをかすひとやなき
| sayo fukete nado ka nakuramu hototogisu tabine no yado o kasu hito ya naki | Brief night breaks, so Why does he cry so? The cuckoo A lodging on his journey Has no one to lend him! |
49
Right (Win)
なつのいけによるべさだめぬうきくさのみづよりほかにゆくかたもなし
| natsu no ike ni yorube sadamenu ukikusa no mizu yori hoka ni yuku kata mo nashi | Upon the pond in summer No destination has The waterweed, so Other than the water It has no place to go… |
Okikaze
50
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… |
A poem composed by Prince Ōtsu, weeping, at Iware Pond, when he was due to die.
百傳 磐余池尓 鳴鴨乎 今日耳見哉 雲隠去牟
百伝ふ磐余の池に鳴く鴨を今日のみ見てや雲隠りなむ
| momo tutapu ipare no ike ni naku kamo wo kepu nomi mite ya kumogakurinamu | A hundred tales Told at Iware Pond By the crying ducks Do I see, today, at the last As I vanish beyond the clouds? |
Left
冬の池のうへはこほりてとぢたるをいかでか月のそこにすむらん
| fuyu no ike no ue wa kōrite tojitaru o ikade ka tsuki no soko ni sumuramu | A winter pond is Frozen above and Completely sealed, so Why is it that the moon Seems so clear upon its bed? |
Tomonori
137
Right
ふゆさむみみのもにかくるますかがみとくも我なむ老いまどふべく
| fuyu samumi mi no mo ni kakuru masukagami toku mo warenamu oimadoubeku | In winter’s chill Upon the water’s surface rests A clear glass, but Long since did I break it— Surely confused in my old age! |
138
Left
ほりておきし池は鏡とこほれども影にもみえぬ年ぞ経にける
| horiteokishi ike wa kagami to kōredomo kage ni mo mienu toshi zo henikeru | All dug out The pond into a mirror Has frozen, yet Reflected, I cannot see The year gone by! |
127
Right
降る雪のつもれる峰は白雲のたちもさわがずをるかとぞみる
| furu yuki no tsumoreru mine wa shirayuki no tachi mo sawagazu oru ka to zo miru | The falling snow Has drifted upon the peaks Whiteness Arrives without a rustle Making me wonder if it’s there at all… |
128
On a thin layer of ice remaining atop a pond, for a Poetry Contest held at the Residence of Imperial Princess Miwako.
うす氷残りすくなくなりにけり池のかがみと冬はみしかど
| usugōri nokori sukunaku narinikeri ike no kagami to fuyu wa mishikado | The film of ice Mere remnants Has become; Yet in the mirror of the pond Winter was once seen… |
Musashino
