When the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber became a nun and, saying she wished for him to administer her vows, came over to the Ninna Temple.
ひとりのみながめて年をふる里の荒れたる様をいかに見るらん
Fitori nomi
nagamete tosi wo
furu sato no
aretaru sama wo
ika ni miruran | All alone
Have I gazed these years
Past upon my retreat’s
Ruined appearance, but
How must it appear within your sight? |
Prince Atsumi
Said by someone to be composed on the feelings of Wang Zhaojun when she was travelling to the kingdom of Hu.
なげきこしみちの露にもまさりけりなれにしさとをこふるなみだは
nagekikoshi
michi no tsuyu ni mo
masarikeri
narenishi sato o
kouru namida wa | A source of grief,
The dew upon this road, too,
Is great, indeed, as
For my familiar home I
Shed tears of longing. |
Akazome Emon
A poem composed on an ancient estate by Prince Nagaya.
吾背子我 古家乃里之 明日香庭 乳鳥鳴成 <嬬>待不得而
我が背子が古家の里の明日香には千鳥鳴くなり妻待ちかねて
wa ga seko ga
purupe no sato no
asuka ni pa
tidori nakunari
tuma matikanete | In that dear man’s
Ancient estate home
At Asuka
Plovers are crying,
Impatiently awaiting their mates… |
A mountain home concealed by haze (霞隔山家)
Left
おぼつかなとなりもみえず成りにけり霞へだつる村雲のさと
obotsukana
tonari mo miezu
narinikeri
kasumi hedatsuru
muragumo no sato | All is hidden!
My neighbours invisible
Have become;
The hazes form a barrier in
This cloud-clustered hamlet… |
Kaya no Nuki
5
Right
春霞八重立ちぬれば尋ねゆく道もわかれずくらはしのさと
harugasumi
yae tachinureba
tazuneyuku
michi mo wakarezu
kurahashi no sato | The spring hazes
Arise eightfold, so
Though I go enquire
No one knows the way to
The estate at Kurahashi. |
Koretsune
6
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
Flutes 笛
此さとに神楽やすらん笛の音のさ夜ふけがたにきこゆなりけり
kono sato ni
kagura ya suran
fue no ne no
sayo fukegata ni
kikoyu narikeri | At this hamlet,
I wonder, is there sacred dance?
For a flute’s notes
At brief night’s breaking
Do I hear. |
Higo
Next Door 隣
隣よりあし火のけぶりもれきつつたかぬさとにもすすたりぬべし
tonari yori
ashibi no keburi
morekitsutsu
takanu sato ni mo
susu tarinubeshi | From next door
The smoke from reed-torches is
Always flooding across, so
Even my home where we light them not
Has soot aplenty! |
Kanemasa
Sages’ Dwellings 仙宮
いかにして玉のうてなの久しくもなかりし程に千代をへぬらん
ika ni shite
tama no utena no
hisashiku mo
nakarishi sato ni
chiyo o henuran | What am I to do?
In a fair tower
Not long did
I stay but, in that dwelling
A thousand generations seem to pass… |
Tadafusa
Sages’ Dwellings 仙宮
桃の花しげきみたにに尋ねいりておもはぬ里に年ぞへにける
momo no hana
shigeki mitani ni
tazuneirite
omowanu sato ni
toshi zo henikeru | Upon peach blossoms
Growing lushly in a hidden valley,
Did I pay a visit, and
In that secret dwelling place
Did year on year go by. |
Nakazane
Ancient Estates 故郷
むぐらはひよもぎがそまとあれはててふりにし里は人かげもせず
mugurahai
yomogi ga soma to
arehatete
furinishi sato wa
hitokage mo sezu | Creepers crawl around
The mugwort and brushwood
Desolate and wild;
At this aged estate
There is no trace of anyone, at all. |
Higo
'Simply moving and elegant'