The Ninth Day of the Ninth Month
なが月の九日までにふくみだるとをかのきくの花びらけなん
nagatsuki no
kokonuka made ni
fuku midaru
tōka no kiku no
hana birakenan | For the Ninth Month’s
Ninth day,
Its garb disarrayed
On the Tenth, the chrysanthemum
Does surely open up its blooms! |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
かづらぎや木かげにひかるいなづまを山ぶしのうつ火かとこそみれ
kazuragi ya
kokage ni hikaru
inazuma o
yamabushi no utsu
hi ka to koso mire | In Kazuragi
Amongst the shadows of the trees flashes
Lightning:
A hermit struck
Flame, does it seem to be… |
Kanemasa
兼昌
Lingering Heat (残暑)
かたみにはあつさばかりを残しおきて秋にもあはむ夏はいぬめり
katami ni wa
atsusa bakari o
nokoshiokite
aki ni mo awamu
natsu wa inumeri | For a keepsake
Just the heat
Has been left behind;
Might I meet with autumn,
As summer seems to leave… |
Kanemasa
源兼昌
Early Evening (晩立)
夕立にをちのみぞ川まさりつつふらぬ里までながれきにけり
yūdachi ni
ochi no mizogawa
masaritsutsu
furanu sato made
nagare kinikeri | With the evening showers
The distant drainage ditches
Are overflowing;
All the way to an untouched estate
Do they run! |
Kanemasa
Cormorant Fishing on the River (鵜河)
うかひ舟つなでくだすと見えつるはいそぎてたぐるたなはなりける
ukaibune
tsunade kudasu to
mietsuru wa
isogite taguru
tanawa narikeri | On a cormorant boat,
When the hawsers dropping
I see
Quickly roll up
The rigging! |
Kanemasa
The Kamo Festival (加茂祭)
宮人のかざしてかへるあふひ草むらさきのにてみどりなるかな
miyabito no
kazashite kaeru
aoigusa
muraskino nite
midori naru kana |
The courtiers
Return, heads garlanded with
Hollyhocks;
The violet fields
All turned to green! |
Kanemasa
Frogs (蛙)
いかばかりいぶせかるらんこやの池の水草のもとにすだく蛙は
ika bakari
ibusekaruran
koya no ike no
mikusa no moto ni
sudaku kawazu wa |
How very
Depressed they seem
At Koya Pond
At the grasses’ roots:
The swarming frogs. |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
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
'Simply moving and elegant'