My reply:
ぬししれと引きける駒の雪を分けばかしこき跡にかへれとぞ思ふ
| nushi shire to hikikeru koma no yuki o wakeba kashikoki ato ni kaere to zo omou | ‘Know your master!’ Following such a mount Forged through the snow did you, then In his fine footsteps Returned home, I feel! |
387
I wrote this myself and sent it with Naitō Tomochika, Secretary of the Bureau of Horses, having selected him as a trustworthy individual.
On a snowy day in the Second Month of Kenryaku 2 [March 1212], Senior Assistant Minister of Public Affairs Yukimitsu came to call at my house, saying he wanted to take a look at the scenery from a mountain retreat; many others were there, including Yukimura, Secretary of Yamajiro and we enjoyed ourselves late into the night with music and poetry. When it was time for him to return, I gifted Yukimitsu with a black horse and when I saw him the following day, I found a piece of paper tied to the horse’s mane, which read
この雪を分けて心の君にあればぬししる駒のためしをぞひく
| kono yuki o wakete kokoro no kimi ni areba nushi shiru koma no tameshi o zo hiku | Through this snow To forge, the heart Had one, then A mount who knows his master well Is an example to follow! |
386
Composed when I had gone hawking to a place called Togami Plain, and saw orchids blooming before a ruined hut.
| akikaze ni nani niouran fujibakama nushi wa furinishi yado to shirazu ya | In the autumn breeze, Why do they shine so bright? Do the purple petals, that The master of this ancient Dwelling is no more, not know? |
At a time when she was living with relatives, and the bush-clover was blooming particularly beautifully, the master of the house was somewhere else and not communicating, so she sent this to him.
白露も心おきてや思ふらむぬしもたづねぬやどの秋はぎ
| siratuyu mo kokoro okite ya omoFuramu nusi mo tasunenu yado no aki Fagi |
Silver dewdrops Also fall on their hearts I feel; As the master pays no call On his dwelling’s autumn bush-clover. |
Chikuzen Wet Nurse
筑前乳母
