On the moonlight flooding over a ruined place
かくばかり風は吹けども板の間もあはぬは月の影さへぞもる
| kaku bakari kaze Fa Fukedomo ita no ma mo aFanu Fa tuki no kage saFe zo miru | So strongly Blows the wind, yet From between the boards, where They fail to meet, it is the moon’s Light that I do see! |
Izumi Shikibu
和泉式部
Composed when a man who had said she could definitely rely on him to come with the evening, said she would not see him until the 20th of the month.
契りおきし人も梢の木間よりたのめぬ月の影ぞもりくる
| tigiri okisi Fito mo kozuwe no ko no ma yori tanomenu tuki no kage zo morikuru |
He promised, but He does not come, and from the treetops Through the trees The fickle moon’s Light comes dripping. |
Horikawa, from the Regent’s Household
摂政家堀川
いづ方へ思ひやらまし秋の夜の空にもあまる月の光を
| izukata e omoiyaramashi aki no yo no sora ni mo amaru tsuki no hikari o |
In which direction Should head my longing? On an autumn night The skies are full of The moon’s light… |
咲きにけり苗代水に影見えて田中の里の山吹の花
| sakinikeri naFasiro midu ni kage miete tanaka no sato no yamabuki no Fana |
So, they have bloomed; Among the waters of the seedling beds Do I see the light; At the dwelling among the rice-fields Of the kerria blooms. |
Taikenmon’in Horikawa
待賢門院堀河
夜もすがら山田の庵は稲妻の光をのみや－灯火にする
| yomosugara yamada no io wa inazuma no hikari o nomi ya tomoshibi ni suru |
All throughout the night In a hut among the mountain fields, Is the lightning’s Light alone the only Lamp? |
里遠み山田の庵は稲妻の光のもるをともと見るかな
| sato tōmi yamada no io wa inazuma no hikari no moru o tomo to miru kana |
Far from home In the mountain fields a hut By lightning’s Light is drenched, Which we watch together. |
Higo, from the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent
京極関白家肥後
目もかれず守る山田の稲妻の光にふれてただならず見ゆ
| me mo karezu mamoru yamada no inazuma no hikari ni furete tada narazu miyu |
Still fresh to my eyes, The mountain fields I ward By lightning’s Light are brushed, and Appear again anew. |
Minamoto no Shunrai
秋の夜の稲葉の露に稲妻の光を宿す程は我が身か
| aki no yo no inaba no tsuyu ni inazuma no hikari o yadosu hodo wa wa ga mi ka |
On an autumn night In the dewdrops on the rice fronds The lightning’s Light does lodge – Will I last as long? |
Minamoto no Nakazane
はかなしや田中の里は稲妻の程なき影を頼めてぞふる
| hakanashi ya tanaka no sato wa inazuma no hodo naki kage o tanomete zo furu |
So briefly At this dwelling among the fields Upon the lightning’s Lengthless light Can I rely and lie me down… |
Minamoto no Akinaka
秋の田の穂の上照らす稲妻の光の間にも君ぞ恋しき
| aki no ta no Fo no uFe terasu inaduma no Fikari no ma ni mo kimi zo koFisiki |
In the autumn fields Above the ears does flash The lightning Its light momentary As my love for you! |