Tag Archives: michi

Man'yōshū

MYS XIII: 3305

Leave a comment

A question and response poem.

物不念　道行去毛　青山乎　振放見者　茵花　香未通女　桜花　盛未通女　汝乎曽母　吾丹依云　吾　毛曽　汝丹依云　荒山毛　人師依者　余所　留跡序云　汝心勤

物思はず　道行く行くも　青山を　振り放け見れば　つつじ花　にほえ娘子　桜花　栄え娘子　汝れをぞも　我れに寄すといふ　我れをもぞ　汝れに寄すといふ　荒山も　人し寄すれば　寄そるとぞいふ　汝が心ゆめ

mono’omowazu
michi yukuyuku mo
aoyama o
furisakemireba
tsutsujibana
nioe otome
sakurabana
hae otome
nare o somo
ware ni yosu to iu
ware o mo
nare ni yosu to iu
arayama mo
hito shi yosureba
yosuru to zo iu
na ga kokoroyume		Unburdened by gloomy thoughts
Along the path I went on and on,
To the green-growing mountain,
When in the distance I saw
An azalea
Fair bright maiden,
A cherry blossom
Glorious maiden:
O, you, truly
Give your heart to me;
And I, too,
Will give my heart to you;
Upon the wild mountain
Folk give their hearts
To one another, so
Never will I abandon you!
Teishi-in ominaeshi awase

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 14

Leave a comment

をせきやまみちふみまがひなかぞらにへむやそのあきのしらぬやまべに

osekiyama
michi fumimagai
nakazora ni
hemu ya sono aki no
shiranu yamabe ni		On Oseki Mountain
I wander lost upon the paths;
All uncertain
Will I pass the days of autumn in
Unknown mountain meadows?

27[1]

をりもちてみしはなゆゑになごりなくてまさへまがひしみつきにけり

orimochite
mishi hana yue ni
nagori naku
tema sae magai
shimitsukinikeri		A bunch picked in hand,
I gazed at the flowers, and thus
Utterly
Lost track of time,
Completely captivated.

28

[1] A variant of this poem occurs in Uda-in ominaeshi uta’awase (9).

Akazome Emon-shū

Akazome emon-shū 549

Leave a comment

Said by someone to be composed on the feelings of Wang Zhaojun when she was travelling to the kingdom of Hu.

なげきこしみちの露にもまさりけりなれにしさとをこふるなみだは

nagekikoshi
michi no tsuyu ni mo
masarikeri
narenishi sato o
kouru namida wa		A source of grief,
The dew upon this road, too,
Is great, indeed, as
For my familiar home I
Shed tears of longing.

Akazome Emon
Man'yōshū

MYS II: 115

Leave a comment

A poem sent by Princess Tajima, when Prince Hozumi was despatched to the Shiga mountain temple in Ōmi, by imperial command.

遺居<而>　戀管不有者　追及武　道之阿廻尓　標結吾勢

後れ居て恋ひつつあらずは追ひ及かむ道の隈廻に標結へ我が背

okure’wite
koitutu arazu pa
opisikamu
miti no kumami ni
sime yupe wa ga se		Left behind and
Ever in love, am I not, so
I shall follow you;
At every turn along your road
Leave me tied a sign, o, darling.
San'I minamoto no hirotsune ason uta'awase

San’i minamoto no hirotsune ason uta’awase 14

Leave a comment

First snow seen at dawn (暁見初雪)

Left

鏡山あか月方に見わたせばあまぎりあひて初雪ぞふる

kagamiyama
akatsukikata ni
miwataseba
amagiri aite
hatsuyuki zo furu		When Mirror Mountain
At the edge of dawn
I do survey
Blended with the misting rain is
The first fall of snow.

Fujiwara no Akinobu, Secretary of Music
27

Right

あさぼらけまだふみ分けぬ初雪にいづれを道とわきぞかねつる

asaborake
mada fumiwakenu
hatsuyuki ni
izure o michi to
waki zo kanetsuru		By dawn’s first light
As yet no feet have marked
This first fall of snow;
How long can the path
Remain untrodden?

Akichika, Ranked without office
28

San'I minamoto no hirotsune ason uta'awase

San’i minamoto no hirotsune ason uta’awase 3

Leave a comment

A mountain home concealed by haze (霞隔山家)

Left

おぼつかなとなりもみえず成りにけり霞へだつる村雲のさと

obotsukana
tonari mo miezu
narinikeri
kasumi hedatsuru
muragumo no sato		All is hidden!
My neighbours invisible
Have become;
The hazes form a barrier in
This cloud-clustered hamlet…

Kaya no Nuki
5

Right

春霞八重立ちぬれば尋ねゆく道もわかれずくらはしのさと

harugasumi
yae tachinureba
tazuneyuku
michi mo wakarezu
kurahashi no sato		The spring hazes
Arise eightfold, so
Though I go enquire
No one knows the way to
The estate at Kurahashi.

Koretsune
6