A poem from a folding screen in the Engi period.
草まくらゆふ風さむくなりにけり衣うつなるやどやからまし
| kusamakura yukaze samuku narinikeri koromo utsu naru yado ya karamashi |
Pillowed on grass, The evening wind grows chiller Still; With the sound of fulling clothes Shall I, perhaps, find lodging? |
Tsurayuki
貫之
Topic unknown.
秋風はふきむすべどもしらつゆのみだれてをかぬ草の葉ぞなき
| aki kaze wa fukimusubedomo shiratsuyu no midarete okanu kusa no ha zo naki |
The Autumn winds Blow forming them, yet Silver dewdrops In disarray have fallen On every single blade of grass. |
Dai Ni no Sanmi
大弐三位
Topic unknown.
あはれいかに草葉のつゆのこぼるらん秋風たちぬみやぎのゝはら
| aware ikani kusa ha no tsuyu no koboruran akikaze tachinu miyagino no hara |
Ahh, how much Can the dew on grass and leaves Overflow, I wonder? Now the autumn wind has blown On the fields of Miyagino. |
The Monk Saigyō
西行
Composed watching fireflies flying upwards.
いづちとかよるは蛍のゝぼるらんゆくかたしらぬ草の枕に
| izuchi to ka yoru wa hotaru no noboruran yuku kata shiranu kusa no makura ni |
Whither bound? At night the fireflies Ascend; Destination unknown, Pausing briefly, pillowed on the grasses. |
Mibu no Tadami
Topic unknown.
夏草はしげりにけれどほとゝぎすなどわがやどに一聲もせぬ
| natsu kusa wa shigerinikeredo hototogisu nado wa ga yado ni hito koe mo senu |
The summer grasses Have grown lush and thick, yet, O, cuckoo Why at my home Do you not give a single call? |
The Engi Emperor (Daigo) (885-930; r. 897-930)
Topic unknown.
なつくさはしげりにけりなたまぼこのみちゆき人もむすぶばかりに
| natsu kusa wa shigerinikeri na tamaboko no michi yuki hito mo musubu bakari ni |
The summer grasses Have grown lush and thick, indeed – Jewelled spear straight, The road he travels – The better he may braid them. |
Fujiwara no Motozane
For a picture of Asaka Marsh, drawn on a screen in the Saishō Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings.
のべはいまだあさかのぬまにかるくさのかつ見るまゝにしげるころかな
| nobe wa imada asaka no numa ni karu kusa no katsu miru mama ni shigeru koro kana |
Not yet in the fields, but At the marsh of Asaka The stalks for reaping of Wild rice – under my eyes Grow lushly upwards now. |
Fujiwara no Masatsune (1170 – 1221)
Composed when she was Kamo High Priestess, at the shrine buildings.
わすれめやあふひをくさにひきむすびかりねのゝべのつゆのあけぼの
| wasureme ya aoi o kusa ni hikimusubi karine no nobe no tsuyu no akebono |
Will I forget, I wonder, Hollyhocks for my pillow Plucked and twined, Sleeping briefly in the fields On this dew-drenched dawning. |
Princess Shokushi
式子内親王