For a folding screen with images of the moon in every month, during the reign of the Engi emperor.
神まつる卯月にさける卯の花はしろくもきねがしらげたるかな
kami maturu
uduki ni sakeru
unoFana Fa
siroku mo kine ga
siragetaru kana | Sacred to the Gods,
The Fourth Month is when bloom
Deutzia,
So white that maidens from the shrine
Must have whitened them! |
Mitsune
On the cold at night.
巫女に狐戀する夜さむ哉
kannagi ni
kitsune koi suru
yosamu kana |
Shrine-maidens are
Much loved by foxes
In the cold of night. |
On the Fourth Month.
巫女町によきゝぬすます卯月哉
miko machi ni
yoki kinu sumasu
uzuki kana |
Where the shrine maidens dwell
They’re washing out their summer clothes:
The Fourth Month is here! |
'Simply moving and elegant'