万代を菊の種とや蒔きそめて花見る毎に祈り来にける
yoroduyo wo kiku no tane to ya makisomete Fana miru goto ni inorikinikeru |
“For ten thousand generations!” Chrysanthemum seeds I have begun to sew, and With the sight of every bloom, That was my fervent prayer! |
19
万代を菊の種とや蒔きそめて花見る毎に祈り来にける
yoroduyo wo kiku no tane to ya makisomete Fana miru goto ni inorikinikeru |
“For ten thousand generations!” Chrysanthemum seeds I have begun to sew, and With the sight of every bloom, That was my fervent prayer! |
19
秋果てて冬はとなりになりぬとて飽かねば菊を匂ひくはふる
aki Fatete Fuyu Fa tonari ni narinu tote akaneba kiku wo nioFi kuFaFuru |
Autumn is done, and Winter is close At hand, they say; When I am left wanting more, the chrysanthemums’ Scent grows thicker. |
18
Composed when people passed through the chrysanthemums around his cell.
濡れて干す山路の菊の露のまにいつか千歳を我は経にけむ
nurete Fosu yamazi no kiku no tuyu no ma ni ituka titose wo ware Fa Fenikemu |
Drenched, then dry, Upon the moutain paths, with chrysanthemums In the gaps between the dewdrops – Sometimes a thousand years It seems I have passed by here… |
Sosei
17
菊の水齢を延べずあらませばさとも荒さで今日あはましや
kiku no midu yowaFi wo nobezu aramaseba sato mo arasade keFu aFamasi ya |
The chrysanthemums’ waters Age do not extend – If that were so, then Would undisarrayed their estate be where We would meet today? |
15
すめらぎの萬代までしませからは給ひし種を植ゑし菊なり
sumeragi no yoroduyo made si mase kara Fa tamaFisi tane wo uwesi kiku nari |
Enduring our Emperor’s Ten thousand generations, So most fine are These gifted seeds, Planted into chrysanthemums. |
14
飲むからに親子の中もわかれずときく谷水をひきて流せり
nomu kara ni oyako no naka mowakarezu to kiku tanimidu wo Fikite nagaseri |
Drinking, so A parent-child bond Shall not broken be, I hear; chrysanthemums, waters from the mountain streams Draw up, and have set flow once more. |
12
The Gentlemen of the Right. These, too, had the sons of the Courtiers Fujiwara no Shigetoki and Hirokage, the Governor of Awa, construct an extremely large suhama upon which all the chrysanthemums were grown together; because the area was cramped when they brought it in, they made preparation to bring it in all at once, attaching wheels to sections, thinking to do it in one, but were startled by the Gentlemen of the Left bringing in their blooms one by one – when all were brought in and assembled together, they made a single charming spectacle, yet though assembled, they were separated and thus seemed incomplete. The initial poem became mixed in with all the others.
山深く入りにし身をぞいたづらに菊の匂ひに憩へ来にける
yama Fukaku irinisi mi wo zo itadura ni kiku no nioFi ni ikoFekinikeru |
Deep within the mountains Have I entered in; Idly has The chrysanthemums’ scent Brought me to my ease. |
11
A chrysanthemum from the barrier at Meeting Hill.
この花は尽きぬらし関川のたえずも見よと折れる菊の枝
kono Fana Fa tukinurasi sekikaFa no taezu mo miyo to woreru kiku no e |
These flowers Do never seem to end, as The river past the barrier gate Endless appears to flow, so too is A plucked chrysanthemum stem. |
10
A chrysanthemum from Tonase in Ōi. Blended with silver, dropped from a waterfall. Although it falls from a great height, it makes no sound.
滝つ瀬はただ今日ばかり音なせそ菊一花に思ひもぞます
taki tu se Fa tada keFu bakari oto na se so kiku Fitobana ni omoFi mo zo masu |
O, rushing waters of the cataract Just on this day alone Make no sound! That a single chrysanthemum bloom May completely fill my thoughts. |
4
A chrysanthemum from Murasakino.
名にしおへば花さへ匂ふ紫の一本菊における初霜
na nisi oFeba Fana saFe nioFu murasaki no Fitomoto kiku ni okeru Fatusimo |
Bearing such a name This bloom is certain to scent: Upon a violet Single chrysanthemum The first frost has fallen. |
3