On plum blossom.
春もやゝけしきとゝのふ月と梅
haru mo yaya
keshiki totonou
tsuki to mume |
Spring is, at long last,
Here, it feels, in the
Moon and plum blossom. |
(1693)
Plum.
ふるゆきにいろまどはせるむめの花うぐひすのみやわきてしのばん
furu yuki ni
iro madowaseru
mume no hana
uguisu nomi ya
wakite shinoban |
The falling snow’s
Shade is as that of
The plum blossom;
The warbler, alone,
Can truly tell one from the other, perhaps. |
The Suga Posthumous Grand Minister [Sugawara no Michizane]
菅原道真
Topic unknown.
むめの花かをのみ袖にとゞめをきてわがおもふ人はをとづれもせぬ
mume no hana
ka o nomi sode ni
todome okite
wa ga omou hito wa
otozure mo senu |
The plum blossoms’
Scent alone upon my sleeves
Remains;
The one I love
Will visit me no more. |
Narihira
業平
春さればまづ咲くやどの梅の花独り見つつや春日暮らさむ
paru sareba
madu saku yado no
ume no pana
pitori mitutu ya
paru pi kurasamu |
When the spring has come
First flowering at my dwelling is
The plum blossom;
In solitude, will I gaze on it
And spend the day in springtime! |
Yamonoue no Okura
山上憶良
Attached to plum blossom and sent to Daini no Sanmi.
見ぬ人によそへて見つるむめの花ちりなんのちのなぐさめぞなき
minu hito ni
yosoete mitsuru
mume no hana
chirinan nochi no
nagusame zo naki |
In place of an unseen lady
Do I gaze upon these
Plum blossoms;
After they have fallen, they
Will be no consolation… |
Provisional Middle Councillor [Fujiwara no] Sadayori (995-1045)
Composed on plum blossom above a fence.
あるじをばたれともわかず春はたゞかきねのむめをたづねてぞみる
aruji o ba
tare tomo wakazu
haru wa tada
kakine no mume o
tazunete zo miru |
The master here,
I care not who he is;
In spring, ’tis only
The plum upon the fence
I come to see! |
Fujiwara no Atsu’ie (1033-1090)
Topic unknown.
おられけりくれなゐにほふむめのはなけさしろたへに雪はふれゝど
orarekeri
kurenai niou
mume no hana
kesa shirotae ni
yuki wa fureredo |
We could pluck them:
Scarlet hued
Plum blossoms:
So white, this morning,
The snowfall, yet… |
The Uji Former Regent and Prime Minister [Fujiwara no Yorimichi (992-1074)]
When he presented a hundred poem sequence.
むめの花にほひをうつす袖のうへにのきもる月のかげぞあらそふ
mume no hana
nioi o utsusu
sode no ue ni
noki moru tsuki no
kage zo arasou |
The plum blossoms’
Scent moves
Over my sleeves –
Flooding ’neath the eaves the moon
Light is not to be outdone. |
Fujiwara no Sada’ie
藤原定家
When he went down to Michinoku Province, he sent this back to the capital from the barrier at Meeting Hill.
われひとり急ぐと思ひし東路に垣根の梅はさきだちにけり
ware Fitori
isogu to omoFisi
adumadi ni
kakine no mume Fa
sakidatinikeri |
I, alone,
Was hurried, or so I thought,
Upon this eastland road;
The plum trees by the fence
Have bloomed already. |
Tachibana no Norimitsu
Topic unknown.
春はたゞ我が宿にのみ梅さかば枯れにし人も見にときなまし
Faru Fa tada
wa ga yado ni nomi
mume sakaba
karenisi Fito mo
mi ni to kinamasi |
In Spring only
At my home alone
Did the plum trees bloom
Then he, who left me,
Might come and see them, at least. |
Izumi Shikibu
和泉式部
'Simply moving and elegant'