きくの露わかゆばかりにそでふれて花のあるじに千代はゆづらむ
kiku no tsuyu wakayu bakari ni sode furete hana no aruji ni chiyo wa yuzuramu Chrysanthemum dew a little Youth, just, will Bring to my sleeves; To the flower’s mistress I would gift a thousand generations!
Composed on the night when coming-of-age ceremonies were held for the son and daughter of the Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, in the Twelfth Month, Shōhei 5 [935].
大原やをしほの山の小松原はやこだかかれ千世のかげみん
ōhara ya oshio no yama no komatsubara haya kodaka kare chiyo no kage min In Ōhara On Oshio Mountain Among the young pine groves Fly swiftly, fledgling hawk, For you will see the light of a thousand generations!
Ki no Tsurayuki
Composed on the night Fujiwara no Sanenobu came of age.
老いぬればおなじ事こそせられけれきみはちよませきみはちよませ
oinureba onadi koto koso serarekere kimi Fa tiyo mase kimi Fa tiyo mase When I have grown old For you the same It shall be! You will live a thousand generations! You will live a thousand generations!
Minamoto no Shitagō
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
The Seventh Night 七夜
おしてるや鵜のはぶきける昔もやこよひはちよと祝ひそめけん
oshiteru ya u no habukikeru mukashi mo ya koyoi wa chiyo to iwaisomeken Bright shining, Did the cormorants beat their wings In times long gone, too? Tonight, for a thousand generations Shall we begin to celebrate!
Kanemasa
The Seventh Night 七夜
君まして今夜七よになりぬればこれよりちよをかぞふべきかな
kimi mashite koyoi nanayo ni narinureba kore yori chiyo o kazoubeki kana Truly, have you This night your seventh night Reached, so Henceforth a thousand generations Must I count for you!
Nakazane
'Simply moving and elegant'