Bush clover
Left
しかのこゑたかさごやまのはぎなればをりてこしよりねをやなくらん
| shika no koe takasagoyama no hagi nareba oritekoshi yori ne o ya nakuran | A stag’s cry On Takasago Mountain, where Lies bush clover: Might someone have come and picked her That he lets out such cries? |
11
Right
あきはぎの花のながるるかはのせにしがらみかくるしかのねもせぬ
| akihagi no hana no nagaruru kawa no se ni shigarami kakuru shika no ne mo senu | Autumn bush clover Blooms flow down The river rapids and Hang upon the lattice weir, and The stag cries not at all… |
12
The first time he spoke with Kamo no Narisuke, he took a shallow wine-cup and composed:
ききわたるみたらしがはの水きよみそこのこころをけふぞみるべき
| kikiwataru mitarashigawa no mizu kiyomi soko no kokoro o kyō zo mirubeki | Listening, The River Mitarashi’s Waters are so pure That to the bottom of my heart I can see today. |
Kunimoto, the Governor of Tsu
[One of] Four poems composed by the Riverside Courtier on seeing the coffin of a lady in the pine groves of Himeshima in Wadō 4 [712].
妹もわれも清の河の川岸の妹が悔ゆべき心は持たじ
| imo mo ware mo kiyomi no kapa no kapagisi no imo ga kuyubeki kokoro pa matazi | Both my darling and I, too, On Kiyomi River Bank: For my darling’s regretful Heart, I failed to wait, alas… |
The same Major Counsellor, writing vertically upon delicate scarlet paper.
年ふともいはで朽ちぬる埋木の下の心はふりぬ恋かな
| toshi futomo iwade kuchinuru umoregi no shita no kokoro wa furinu koi kana | The years pass by, yet Without a word, has rotted The drowned tree— Beneath it, my heart Has grown old with love! |
3
In reply
ふかからぬ水無瀬の川の埋木はしたの恋路は年ふりぬとも
| fukakaranu minase no kawa no umoregi wa shita no koiji wa toshi furinu tomo | There’s no depth to The River Minase, where Drowned trees lie— Beneath, the paths of love Have grown old in years, and yet… |
Chikuzen, Daughter of Prince Yasusuke
4
Love
Left
恋せじと御手洗川に御祓して神うけつらんとおもほゆるかな
| koi seji to mitarashigawa ni oharaishite kami uketsuran to omohoyuru kana | I’ll not fall in love, and At the River Mitarashi Purify myself— Would the gods then accept me, I wonder! |
25
恋なれどそこにもすまぬひれはみづにごれりとおもほゆるかな
| koi naredo soko ni mo sumanu hire wa mizu nigoreri to omohoyuru kana | This is love, yet The deeps are all disturbed, with Fins the waters Clouding, I feel! |
26
こひわたる程のふかさにそめ川の色あさからじとおもほゆるかな
| koiwataru hodo no fukasa ni somekawa no iro asakaraji to omohoyuru kana | So long have I loved you that The depths of Dyers’ River have Lost their pale hues I feel! |
27
Right
おもふとて夕ぐれがたのながめをや人待つほどの恋といふらん
| omou tote yūguregata no nagame o ya hito matsu hodo no koi to iuran | Thinking of him As evening draws on, and I gaze on long rains falling; is Time pining for a man Being in love, I wonder? |
28
年の内にあまる月日の有りければかぞへのうちにははわぶるかな
| toshi no uchi ni amaru tsuki hi no arikereba kazoe no uchi ni haha waburu kana | Throughout the year The days and months mount up So Counting them My mother grieves! |
29
Topic unknown.
もみぢばのながるるあきはかはごとににしきあらふとひとはみるらん[1]
| momidiba no nagaruru aki Fa kaFa goto ni nisiki araFu to Fito Fa miruramu | The scarlet leaves Flow and in autumn By every river Washing their brocade Folk can be seen! |
Anonymous
[1] This poem is included in the Poetry Contest at Prince Koresada’s House (Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase) 69.