Shade beneath the Trees (樹陰)
夏川のきしの柳の葉をしげみなみも木かげによるにぞ有りける
natsukawa no
kishi no yanagi no
ha o shigemi
nami mo kokage ni
yoru ni zo arikeru | By a river in Summer
Upon the bank the willow’s
Leaves grow lush;
The waves, too, the branches’ shade
Do seek. |
Kanemasa
Fans (扇)
てなるれどあふぎぞつらき我がせこがますみの色をかくすと思へば
tenaruredo
ōgi zo tsuraki
wa ga seko ga
masumi no iro o
kakusu to omoeba | ‘Tis skillfully wielded, yet
How I hate his fan!
For my darling man’s
Bright brilliance
Does it conceal, I feel… |
Kanemasa
Pinks (瞿麦)
おぼつかなからなでしこをここまでにたれかわたしてうゑはじめけん
obotsukana
kara nadeshiko o
koko made ni
tare ka watashite
uehajimeken | How strange!
A China pink
Has come so far!
Who is it made the journey, and
First planted it here? |
Kanemasa
Lingering Warblers (残鶯)
おそ桜にほふ梢のうぐひすははつ声よりもめづらしきかな
osozakura
niou kozue no
uguisu wa
hatsugoe yori mo
mezurashiki kana | The late-blooming cherries’
Treetops glow, where
To hear a warbler –
More than his first song –
‘Tis strange, indeed! |
Kanemasa
Pheasants (雉)
かり人は声をたづぬとしらねばやかすみのうちにきぎす鳴くらん
karibito wa
koe o tazunu to
shiraneba ya
kasumi no uchi ni
kigisu nakuran | Of hunters
His song seeking
All unknowing?
From within the haze
Does the pheasant seem to call. |
Kanemasa
Azaleas (躑躅)
入日さすをちのをかべのをかつつじ夕くれなゐの色ぞまされる
irihi sasu
ochi no okabe no
okatsutsuji
yū kurenai no
iro zo masareru | The setting sun does shine
On the distant slopes where
The azaleas on the hillside
With evening’s scarlet
Hues are fair, indeed. |
Kanemasa
Falling Blossom (落花)
木のもとにちりつもりたる花をこそ庭桜とはいふべかりけれ
ko no moto ni
chiritsumoritaru
hana o koso
niwazakura to wa
iubekarikere | The trees’ feet are
Piled with drifts of
Blossom: so
Domesticated cherries
Should they be called! |
Kanemasa
Peach Blossom (桃花)
春霞たちかくさなんみちのべのかきねにさけるひめももの花
harugasumi
tachikakusanan
michinobe no
kakine ni sakeru
himemomo no hana | The spring hazes
Do arise, and seem to hide them:
By the roadside
Blooming on the brushwood fence,
Sweet peach blossoms… |
Kanemasa
Scarlet Plum (紅梅)
みる人のあくしなければ梅の花うすくれなゐの色もかへらず
miru hito no
adashinakereba
ume no hana
usukurenai no
iro mo kaerazu | That folk gaze on is
Meaningless, so
The plum blossoms’
Pale scarlet
Hue, too, will not return. |
Kanemasa
Blossom not yet in Bloom (未発花)
さかぬよりかねてぞいとふ花の木のえだ吹きをるな春の山風
sakanu yori
kanete zo itou
hana no ki no
eda fukioru na
haru no yamakaze | They have not bloomed, so
Yet will they console me.
Trees’ blossom bearing
Branches break not with your blowing,
O, springtime mountain breezes! |
Kanemasa
'Simply moving and elegant'