A poem from a folding screen in the Engi period.
としごとにおいそふ竹のよゝをへてかはらぬいろをたれとかはみん
toshi goto ni
oisou take no
yoyo o hete
kawaranu iro o
tare to ka wa min |
Every year
Lushly grows bamboo
Through the passing ages
Its hues unchanging;
And who shall see them… |
Tsurayuki
貫之
On the sound of snow in the middle of the night.
あけやらぬねざめのとこにきこゆなりまがきの竹の雪のしたおれ
akeyaranu
nezame no toko ni
kikoyu nari
magaki no take no
yuki no shitaore |
No hint of dawn, yet
Awakened in my bed
I hear it:
Bamboo against the lattice fence,
Boughs breaking in the snow. |
Minister of Punishments [Fujiwara no] Norikane
'Simply moving and elegant'