年のうちに積もれる罪はかきくらし降る白雪とともに消えなむ
tosi no uti ni
tumoreru tumi Fa
kakikurasi
Furu sirayuki to
tomo ni kienamu |
Within the year
My accumulated sins
Leave me in darkness;
With the falling snow so white
I wish they would disappear! |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
When the gentlemen and ladies of the household of the Minister of the Left were getting dressed for a coming-of-age ceremony.
大原やをしほの山のこまつ原はや木高かれ千代の影みむ
oFoFara ya
wosiFo no yama no
komatubara
haya ko takakare
tiyo no kage mimu |
At Ōhara,
On Oshio Mountain
The young pine saplings
Will grow swiftly into mighty trees and
See a thousand generations pass! |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
Sent to the house of someone who had gone to Shinano.
月影は飽かず見るとも更級の山の麓に長居すな君
tukikage Fa
akazu miru tomo
sarasina no
yama no Fumoto ni
nagawisu na kimi |
The moonlight can
Never sate your gaze, but
In Sarashina
At the mountain’s foot
Stay not too long, my lord! |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
露深き菊をし折れる心あらば千代のあだ名はたたむとぞ思ふ
tuyu Fukaki
kiku wo si woreru
kokoro araba
tiyo no adana Fa
tatamu to zo omoFu |
Drenched in dew,
Picking chrysanthemums:
Should you have a mind to that,
Then a thousand years of old-wives’ tales
Would arise about you, I feel! |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
百年を人に留むる玉なればあだにやは見る菊の上の露
momotose wo
Fito ni todomuru
tama nareba
ada ni ya Fa miru
kiku no uFe no tuyu |
A century
For folk is halted
By these gems, so
Can I look lightly on
Dewdrops upon chrysanthemums? |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
祈りつつなほ九月の菊の花いづれの秋か植て見ざらむ
inoritutu
naFo nagatuki no
kiku no Fana
idure no aki ka
uwete mizaramu |
As we pray,
The Ninth Month’s
Chrysanthemum blooms:
Will there ever be an autumn
When they go unplanted? |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
照る月を昼かと見れば暁に羽核搔く鴫もあらじとそ思ふ
teru tuki wo
Firu ka to mireba
akatuki ni
Fane kaku sigi mo
arazi to zo omoFu |
The shining moon
Makes it seem like noon, so
With the dawn,
Beating their wings, even the snipe
Have gone, I feel. |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
夏の夜の臥すかとすれば時鳥鳴く一声に明くる東雲
natu no yo no
Fusu ka to sureba
Fototogisu
naku Fito kowe ni
akuru sinonome |
On a summer night
I am just about to take to bed, when,
A cuckoo calls, and
With a single song
Light comes to the eastern sky. |
Ki no Tsurayuki
行く水のうへにいはへる河社河浪高くあそぶなるかな
yuku midu no
uFe ni iFaFeru
kaFa yasiro
kaFa nami takaku
asobunaru kana |
The waters run, and
Above them in celebration is
A river shrine;
The river’s waves rise high,
Taking pleasure in their play! |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
川社しのにおりはへ乾す衣いかに乾せばか七日干ざらん
kaFa yasiro
sino ni oriFaFe
Fosu koromo
ikani Foseba ka
nanoka Fizaran |
At a river shrine
Stems of bamboo wave freely
The clothes I’d dry
How should I do so?
Seven days still damp… |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
'Simply moving and elegant'