Robes scented with orange blossom incense in the night.
うたたねのよるのころもにかをるなり物おもふやどの軒のたち花
utatane no yoru no koromo ni kaoru nari mono’omou yado no noki no tachibana In fitful doze At night my robe is Scented Gloomy thoughts fill my house With the orange blossom by the eaves.
Orange blossom at an ancient estate.
いにしへをしのぶとなしにふる里のゆふべの雨ににほふたち花
inishie o shinobu to nashi ni furusato no yūbe no ame ni niou tachibana Bygone days I do not recall, but At an ancient estate In the evening rain Comes the scent of orange blossom.[i]
[i] This poem functions as a reply to: Topic unknown. さつきまつ花橘のかをかげば昔の人の袖のかぞする satsuki matsu / hana tachibana no / ka o kageba / mukashi no hito no / sode no ka zo suru ‘Awaiting the Fifth Month / The orange blossoms’ / Scent fills the air, and / Folk from long ago / With their perfumed sleeves come back to me.’ Anonymous (KKS III: 139 ).
At a time when he produced a Hundred Poem Sequence, His Majesty composed this as a poem on orange blossoms. 五月雨にはなたちばなのかをる夜は月すむ秋もさもあらばあれ
samidare ni hanatachibana no kaoru yo wa tsuki sumu aki mo sa mo araba are Early summer showers fall, and Orange blossom Scents the night; The clear, bright moon of autumn Hardly seems to match it…
Emperor Sutoku
Topic unknown.
わがやどの花たちばなにふく風をたが里よりとたれながむらん
wa ga yado no hanatachibana ni fuku kaze o ta ga sato yori to tare nagamuran From my home The scent of orange blossom Is carried on the breeze; Will you wonder from whose house it came Lost in pensive thoughts?
Major Controller of the Left Chikamune
Topic unknown.
うき雲のいざよふよひの村雨におひ風しるくにほふたちばな
ukigumo no izayou yoi no murasame ni oikaze shiruku niou tachibana Drifting clouds Trail through the night Bringing a summer shower and On the pursuing breeze, clearly, The scent of orange blossom.
Fujiwara no Iemoto
Ancient Estates 故郷
よもぎ分けたづねぞきぬる古郷は花たちばなのかをしるべにて
yomogi wake tazune zo kinuru furusato wa hanatachibana no ka o shirube nite Forging through the mugwort To visit have I come To this ancient estate, with Orange blossom’s Scent as my guide…
Daishin
Topic unknown.
いまもかもさきにほふらむたちばなの小島の崎の山吹の花
ima mo kamo saki niFoFuramu tatibana no wozima no saki no yamabuki no Fana Now, as always, Blossoms in full glory, among The orange blossom on Ojima Point, Kerria blooms.
Anonymous
時鳥花橘の香を求めて鳴くは昔の人や恋しき
Fototogisu
Fanatatibana no
ka wo tomete
naku Fa mukasi no
Fito ya koFisiki
O cuckoo,
Orange blossom
Scent do you summon
With your song;
Are folk from times long gone fondly in your thoughts?
常盤なる花橘に時鳥鳴きとよめつつ千代も経ぬかな
tokiFa naru
Fanatatibana ni
Fototogisu
nakitoyometutu
tiyo mo Fenu kana
From the eternal
Orange blossom
The cuckoo
Calls will ever resound
Though a thousand ages go by!
A poem by the Governor-General of Dazai, Lord Ōtomo.
橘の花散る里の霍公鳥片恋しつつ鳴く日しぞ多き
tatibana no
pana tiru sato no
pototogisu
kata kopisitutu
naku pi si zo opoki
Orange
Blossom scatters round my estate where
The cuckoo
For unrequited love
Does cry on many a day…
Ōtomo no Tabito
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