Stones 石
君が代のかずにしとらばうちのぼるさほのかはらの石もたえじな
kimi ga yo no
kazu nishi toraba
uchinoboru
sao no kawara no
ishi mo taeji na | The years of My Lord’s reign:
Should I number up, then they would be as
The upper courses of
The banks of Sao River –
Its stones never-ending! |
Kanemasa
Composed on plovers for a poetry competition in Eishō 4 [1050].
佐保川の霧のあなたに鳴く千鳥聲は隔てぬ物にぞ有ける
saFogaFa no
kiri no anata ni
naku tidori
kowe Fa Fedatenu
mono ni zo arikeru | The River Sao:
Mist rises, and from beyond
Come plover cries,
Their calls uninterrupted
By anything. |
The Horikawa Minister of the Right [Fujiwara no Yorimune]
'Simply moving and elegant'
