A travel poem for a fifty poem sequence composed for the Monk-Prince Shukaku.
たちかへり又もきて見ん松島やをじまのとまや浪にあらすな
tachi kaeri
mata mo kite min
matsushima ya
ojima no tomaya
nami ni arasu na |
Rising, falling, leaving, departing
To come once again to see
In Matsushima,
Ojima where my hut-
I would not have the wave wash it away. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
Topic unknown.
かりそめのたびのわかれとしのぶれどおいは涙もえこそとゞめね
karisome no
tabi no wakare to
shinoburedo
oi wa namida mo
e koso todome ne |
A brief
Journey’s parting
I recall, yet
At my age tears
I cannot stop up. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
In the Autumn [of the year] the mother of Provisional Councillor Michi’ie died, he sent this to the Regent and Grand Minister.
かぎりなき思のほどの夢のうちはおどろかさじとなげきこしかな
kagirinaki
omoi no hodo no
yume no uchi wa
odorokasaji to
nageki koshi kana |
Beyond all measure must
Your feelings be at this time,
Within a dream from which
You cannot awake-I would not disturb you
With my own small grief. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
After the death of Sada’ie’s mother, around autumn time he was staying at a temple near her grave and composed this.
まれにくる夜はもかなしき松風をたえずやこけのしたにきくらん
mare ni kuru yo wa mo kanashiki matsu kaze o taezu ya koke no shita ni kikuran | Rarely did I come At nights now I sorrowfully Pine trees in the wind Unceasingly beneath the moss I wonder will you hear it? |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
One Autumn, in remembrance of his mother he had gone into seclusion at the Hōrin [Temple] and, when the storm winds were blowing strongly…
うきよにはいまはあらしの山かぜにこれやなれゆくはじめなるらん
uki yo ni wa
ima wa arashi no
yama kaze ni
kore ya nareyuku
hajime naruran |
In this cruel world
Now, the storm winds
Off the mountain:
Will I grow accustomed to them-
Is this the first step, I wonder? |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
A rice-hulling poem presented from the Eastern Section at the Daijō Festivities in the First year of Nin’an (1166).
あふみのやさかたのいねをかけつみてみちあるみよのはじめにぞつく
ōmi no ya
sakata no ine o
kaketsumite
michi aru miyo no
hajime ni zo tsuku |
In Ōmi
At Sakata the rice
Lies piled high;
For my Lord’s reign to follow the way,
First, we must hull it. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
Composed on the spirit of Felicitation.
きみがよはちよともさゝじあまのとやいづる月日のかぎりなければ
kimi ga yo wa
chi yo to mo sasaji
ama no to ya
izuru tsuki hi no
kagiri nakereba |
My Lord’s reign will last
A thousand years, or more, I cannot say; as
From the doors of heaven
Emerge the sun and moon
Without end. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
For a folding screen in the sixth year of Bunji, on the occasion of the entry of a senior consort to the palace.
山人のおるそでにほふきくのつゆうちはらふにもちよはへぬべし
yamabito no
oru sode niou
kiku no tsuyu
uchiharau ni mo
chi yo wa henubeshi |
Hermits’
Trailing sleeves scented
With chrysanthemum dew
When waved
Pass through a thousand years, no doubt. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
Sent to [his nephew] the Gotokudaiji Minister of the Left on a snowy morning.
けふはもし君もやとふとながむれどまだあともなき庭の雪哉
kyō wa moshi
kimi mo ya tou to
nagamuredo
mada ato mo naki
niwa no yuki kana |
Today, perhaps,
You might come to call,
I wonder, gazing at
The yet undinted
Snow upon my garden. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
Topic unknown.
かつこほりかつはくだくる山がはのいはまにむせぶ曉の聲
katsu kori
katsu wa kudakuru
yamagawa no
iwama ni musebu
akatsuki no koe |
First frozen
Then breaking:
A mountain stream-
Choked between the rocks-
Finds its voice in the dark before dawn. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
'Simply moving and elegant'