On a place where plum blossom blooms.
わがやどの梅のはつはなさきにけりまつうぐひすはなどかきなかぬ
| wa ga yado no ume no hatsuhana sakinikeri matsu uguisu wa nado ka kinakanu | My dwelling’s First plum blossom Has bloomed, so Why has the long awaited warbler Not come to sing? |
Plum blossom disliking the rain.
我がやどの梅のはなさけり春雨はいたくなふりそちらまくもをし
| wa ga yado no ume no hana sakeri harusame wa itaku na furi so chiramaku mo oshi | At my house The plum blossom has bloomed, so Spring showers, Don’t fall so hard, for Scattered petals I would regret! |
Plum blossom at an ancient estate.
ふる郷にたれしのべとか梅のはなむかしわすれぬかににほふらん
| furusato ni tare shinobedo ka ume no hana mukashi wasurenu ka ni niouran | At this ancient estate Who is it I recall? The plum blossom Unforgettable days gone by With fragrance seems to bring to life. |
Composed on plum blossom.
鶯はいたくなわびそ梅のはなことしのみちるならひならねば
| uguisu wa itaku na wabi so ume no hana kotoshi no michiru narai naraneba | O, warbler, Cry not with such sorrow! For the plum blossom’s Fair scattering this year Is not a one-time thing… |
Composed on plum blossom.
さりともと思ひし程に梅のはな散りすぐるまで君がきまさぬ
| saritomo to omoishi hodo ni ume no hana chirisuguru made kimi ga kimasanu | Soon, ‘twould be Was I a’thinking, but The plum blossom Is scattered and gone and Of you there is no sign at all… |
Composed on plum blossom.
わが袖に香をだにのこせ梅花あかで散りぬるわすれがたみに
| wa ga sode ni ka o dani nokose ume no hana akade chirinuru wasuregatami ni | Upon my sleeves Your scent, at least, leave behind, O, plum blossom! That, unsated, when you have scattered I’ll have a keepsake to forget you not… |
Composed on plum blossom.
春風はふけどふかねど梅花さけるあたりはしるくぞ有りける
| harukaze wa fuketobu kanedo mume no hana sakeru atari wa shiruku zo arikeru | Whether the breeze in springtime Blows, or blows not, that The plum blossom Is blooming here is Startlingly clear! |
A warbler between the blossom.
春くれば先さくやどのむめのはなかをなつかしみうぐひすぞ鳴く
| haru kureba mazu saku yado no mume no hana ka o natsukashimi uguisu zo naku | When the spring has come, First to bloom at my house is Plum blossom Fond of its fragrance Does the warbler sing! |
Left (Win)
きつつのみなくうぐひすのふるさとはちりにしむめのはなにざりける
| kitsutsu nomi naku uguisu no furusato wa chirinishi mume no hana ni zarikeru | Ever coming, simply To sing—the warbler’s Ancient home The scattered plum Blossoms is not. |
Mitsune
5[i]
Right
みちよへてなるてふももはことしよりはなさくはるにあひぞしにける
| michiyo hete naru chō momo wa kotoshi yori hana saku haru ni ai zo shinikeru | Three thousand generations enduring, They say, are the peaches: From this year Blossom blooming spring Have they encountered. |
Korenori
6[ii]
This poem says ‘generation’ when it should be composed about a year—it loses.
[i] This poem is included in Shinchokusenshū (I: 36), attributed to Sakanoue no Korenori, with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] A minor variant of this poem, which changes the first phrase to ‘For three thousand years’ (michi tose ni), is included in Shūishū (V: 288), attributed to Mitsune, with the headnote ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
He had paid a visit to the house of an acquaintance where there was a plum tree. ‘When it blooms, I will certainly invite you to come,’ he was told, but when no letter arrived…
梅花今は盛りになりぬらんたのめし人のをとづれもせぬ
| mume no Fana ima Fa sakarini narinuran tanomesi Fito no wotodure mo senu | The plum blossom Is now profusely Blooming, it seems, but From the man I trusted Comes no note, at all… |
The Suzakuin Prince and Minister for War [Atsukata/Atsumoto]