Monkeys 猿
たかのみこいともあやしとみましけり猿まろをしも引きたてじとや
takano miko
ito mo ayashi to
mimashikeri
sarumaro o shimo
hikitateji to ya | Prince Takano
Really does have a strange
Appearance, I would say!
For a monkey does
Not stand upright, does he? |
Toshiyori
Spiders 蜘蛛
ささがには苔のたもとにふるまへど涙ならではくる人もなし
sasagani wa
koke no tamoto ni
furumaedo
namida narade wa
kuru hito mo nashi | A tiny crab
On my mossy sleeves
Does spin her web, yet
Absent my tears,
There is no one to come, at all… |
Toshiyori
Zithers 筝
ことのねのことぢにむせぶ夕ぐれはけもいよだちぬそぞろさむさに
koto no ne no
kotoji ni musebu
yūgure wa
ke mo iyodachinu
sozoro samosa ni | A zither’s notes
Span a tearful
Evening, as
My hair stands on end
With the sudden chill. |
Toshiyori
Flutes 笛
青竹を雲のうへ人ふきたてて春のうぐひすさへづらすなり
aotake o
kumo no uebito
fukitatete
haru no uguisu
saezurasunari | The famed flute, Aotake, by
One above the clouds
Is played and
In spring, the warblers
Are inspired to song. |
Toshiyori
Next Door 隣
かきごしにほのめくだにもあるものをねたくも梅のあるじなるかな
kakigoshi ni
honomeku dani mo
aru mono o
netaku mo ume no
aruji naru kana | Through a gap in the fence
But faint does
It seem to be;
How I envy that plum blossom’s
Master! |
Toshiyori
Boats 船
なごかれよみずりもすまにかきつみてあからも袖の灘通る日ぞ
nagokare yo
mizuri mo suma ni
kakitsumite
akara mo sode no
natatōru hi zo | O, be calm!
The dyestuffs at Suma are
Gathered all together, and
The red hue on my sleeves is
The sun passing through these perilous seas! |
Toshiyori
Seafolk 泉郎
ひく島のあまのうけ舟波まよりかうてふさすとゆふしでをかく
hikushima no
ama no ukebune
namima yori
kau chō sasu to
yūshide o kaku | At Hikushima
The fisher-folks’ buoy-boats
From between the breakers
Point the way today, like
A painting of a sacred garland. |
Toshiyori
Old Folk 老人
しくちひくあこのはまやに年ふりていやみにましばしめられにけり
shikuchi hiku
ako no hamaya ni
toshi furite
iyami ni mashiba
shimerarenikeri | Fishing for mullet
From a hut on Ako Beach
Have I got on in years, and
Detestation deeply
Is graven on my heart. |
Toshiyori
Singing Girls 妓女
をとめ子がをみのたもとにひれふりて返すま袖をしのばざらめや
otomego ga
omi no tamoto ni
hire furite
kaesu masode o
shinobazarame ya | From the maidens’
Gowns’ sleeves
Their stoles do wave;
The back and forth
I might not recall! |
Toshiyori
Wang Zhaojun 王昭君
見えばやなみえば思ひいづるかがみに身をもかへてけるかな
mieba ya na
mieba saritomo
omoi’izuru
kagami ni mi o mo
kaetekeru kana | If I had but been seen…
But even had I been seen,
I remember
The mirror where my reflection
Changed! |
Toshiyori
'Simply moving and elegant'