On the twentieth day of the Tenth Month, when I had gone to Hiraizumi, the snow was falling and stormy winds were blowing hard, and it was most extraordinarily desolate. Nevertheless, I wanted to see the River Robe as soon as possible and went there to take a look. When I arrived on the river bank, I got the feeling I was gazing upon something most different from the norm, when wandering near Koromo Castle. The riverbank was covered with ice, and it was particularly moving.
とりわきて心もしみてさえぞわたる衣河みにきたるけふしも
toriwakite
kokoro mo shimite
sae zo wataru
koromogawa
mi ni kitaru kyō shimo |
How deeply
Sunk within my heart
Is the frost across
The River Robe;
Especially on this day I have come to gaze upon it! |
Saigyō
西行
とぢ渡すこほりに雪のうはぎして寒けに見ゆる衣川かな
todiwatasu
koFori ni yuki no
uFagisite
samuke ni miyuru
koromogaFa kana |
Sealed across
The ice has snow
In a coat upon it;
You can see the chill
At the River Robe! |
Fujiwara no Nakamasa
藤原仲正
衣川むすぶこほりのけぬが上につもる雪をやとぢかさぬらむ
koromogaFa
musubu koFori no
kenu ga uFe ni
tumoru yuki wo ya to
todikasanuramu |
At the River Robe,
Bound in ice that
Never fades, upon it
Piles the snows: is
Not that why I am sealed in here? |
Shunzei
Summer Garb (夏衣)
身にちかくなるとはすれど衣川ひとへにのみはえこそたのまね
mi ni chikaku
naru to wa suredo
koromogawa
hitoe ni nomi wa
e koso tanomane |
Close to my flesh:
To that I am accustomed, yet
The River Robe
In just a single layer:
In that I cannot place my trust! |
Lady Higo from the Residence of the Kyōgyoku Regent
京極関白家肥後
Summer Garb (夏衣)
夏たつとしるしも見えず衣川いつも舟よるうらしなければ
natsu tatsu to
shirushi mo miezu
koromogawa
itsumo fune yoru
urashinakereba |
Of summer weft
There is no sign
At the River Robe
For never do boats draw near
Its shores! |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
Topic unknown.
たもとよりおつる涙はみちのくの衣河とぞいふべかりける
tamoto yori
oturu namida Fa
mitinoku no
koromogaFa to zo
iFubekarikeru |
From my sleeves
Fall tears:
In Michinoku
The River Robe
Is what I should say! |
Anonymous
身に近きなをぞ頼みし陸奥の衣の川と見てや渡らむ
mi ni chikaki
na o zo tanomishi
michinoku no
koromo no kawa to
mite ya wataramu |
Close to my flesh
Did its name suggest,
In Michinoku
The River Robe, but
Catching a glimpse, I wonder, should I traverse it? |
'Simply moving and elegant'