Composed by his mother, on the night the Sugawara Minister came of age.
ひさかたの月のかつらもをるばかりいへの風をもふかせてしかな
hisakata no tsuki no katsura mo oru bakari ie no kaze o mo fukaseteshi kana | The eternal Moon’s silver trees Will simply break With the wind this house Has caused to blow! |
Autumn
Left
秋の夜の有明にみれど久堅の月のかつらはうつろはぬかな
aki no yo no ariake ni miredo hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa utsurouwanu kana | An autumn night’s Dawn I see, yet The eternal Moon’s silver trees Show no sign of fading! |
13
秋萩の花咲く比の白露は下ばのためとわきて置くべし
aki hagi no hana saku koro no shiratsuyu wa shitaba no tame to wakite okubeshi | In autumn, the bush clover Flowers bloom—just then Silver dewdrops For the under-leaves Do fall, marking every one. |
14
秋風はいなばもそよとふきつめりかりみる程と成りやしぬらん
akikaze wa inaba mo soyo to fukitsumeri kari miru hodo to nari ya shinuran | The autumn breeze Seems to rustle the rice stalks As it blows; Seeing if ‘tis time to reap them— Is that what it is, I wonder? |
15
Right
銀河とわたる舟は花薄ほにいづるほどぞかげもみゆべき
ama no kawa towataru fune wa hanasusuki ho ni izuru hodo zo kage mo miyubeki | Across the River of Heaven A boat goes ferrying: When the silver grass Ears burst into bloom, Can its shape be seen. |
16
女郎花さがの花をば色ながら秋をさかりといはれずもがな
ominaeshi saga no hana oba iro nagara aki o sakari to iwarezu mogana | Maidenflowers: Blossoms from Saga Reveal their hues, and In autumn are most fine—that Goes without saying! |
17
小男鹿の朝たつ霧にうりふ山嶺の梢は色こかりけり
saoshika no asa tatsu kiri ni urifuyama mine no kozue wa iro kokarikeri | Stags Within the rising morning mist on Urifu Moutain, where The treetops on the peak Have taken darker hues. |
18
いりひさす山とぞ見ゆるもみぢばのあきのことごとてらすなりけり
irihi sasu yama to zo miyuru momijiba no aki no kotogoto terasu narikeri | The setting sun shines On the mountains, and it seems The scarlet leaves All of autumn Do illuminate. |
57
ひさかたのつきのかつらもあきはなほもみぢすればやてりまさるらん[1]
hisakata no tsuki no katsura mo aki wa nao momiji sureba ya terimasaruran | On the eternal Moon the silver trees too In Autumn Change their hues; Is that why you shine so bright? |
58
[1] This poem was included in Kokinshū (IV: 194), where it is attributed to Mibu no Tadamine.
Katsura 桂
久かたの月のかつらはとことはに色もかはらぬ物とこそきけ
hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa tokotowa ni iro mo kawaranu mono to koso kike | The eternal Moon’s silver trees: Everlastingly Unchanged are their hues, Or so I’ve heard! |
Daishin
Katsura 桂
なが月の月の光のさゆるかなかつらの枝にしもやおくらん
nagatsuki no tsuki no hikari no sayuru kana katsura no eda ni shimo ya okuran | In the longest month The moonlight is Chill, indeed! Upon the branches of the silver trees I wonder, does frost fall? |
Kanemasa
Katsura 桂
あまの原いつ時雨れして秋の夜の月のかつらもあかくなるらん
ama no hara itsu shigureshite aki no yo no tsuki no katsura mo akakunaruran | Upon the plain of Heaven When will drizzle fall? For On an autumn night The silver trees upon the moon Do seem to shine more bright! |
Akinaka
'Simply moving and elegant'