First Snow 初雪
めづらしき花のみやこの初雪を九重にさへふらしてぞみる
mezurashiki hana no miyako no hatsuyuki o kokonoe ni sae furashite zo miru | Unusually, On the flower that is the Capital Has fallen the first snow – The ninefold palace gates Have summoned it, it seems! |
Toshiyori
Crickets 蛬
なきかへせ秋をおくるなきりぎりすくれなば声のよわるのみかは
nakikawase aki o okuru na kirigirisu kurenaba koe no yowaru nomi ka wa | Crying all together As autumn’s end draws near, are The crickets; Should it end, is it their song Alone that will weaken? |
Toshiyori
Bell Crickets 鈴虫
かずならでふりぬることをすず虫となきかはしてもあかしつるかな
kazu narade furinuru koto o suzumushi to nakikawashitemo akashitsuru kana | Innumerable Have they descended; The bell crickets All crying together, yet Dawn has come! |
Toshiyori
Pine Crickets 松虫
夕されば野べもや物をおもふらん松虫鳴きて露しめりけり
yū sareba nobe mo ya mono o omouran matsumushi nakite tsuyu shimerikeri | When the evening comes Does the plain seem Sunk in thought? The pine crickets crying, and The dew so chill… |
Toshiyori
Autumn Mountains 秋山
都にてたれにかたらん紅葉するたつたの山のみねの気色を
miyako nite tare ni kataran momijisuru tatsuta no yama no mine no keshiki o | In the capital Who is there to tell? Of scarlet-turning Tatsuta Mountain’s Peak’s appearance? |
Toshiyori
Scented Grasses 草香
いくさくさのがふ心やつきぬらんいまのはり道石ふますとて
ikusakusa no gau kokoro ya tsukinuran ima no harimichi ishi fumasu tote | With a multitude of grasses’ Scents will my heart Reach exhaustion? Now, upon this new-laid road I’ll tread down stones, I think… |
Toshiyori
Reaped Rice Fields 稂田
よしさらばおもふひつちのかしげつつ物にもならでしもかれねとや
yoshi saraba omou hitsuchi no kashigetsutsu mono ni mo narade shimogarene to ya | I care not! That’s what I feel – the stubble, Ever bent down And coming to nothing: I wonder, will it avoid the burn of frost? |
Toshiyori
Storms 嵐
吹きまよふ嵐の音やわび人の涙の玉のをともなるらん
fukimayou arashi no oto ya wabibito no namida no tama no oto mo naruran | Does the wildly gusting Storm’s sound turn to A heartbroken man’s Teardrops Falling? It seems so. |
Toshiyori
The Moon at Dawn 暁月
有明の月のけしきもわびしきにみせばや物をおもふさかりは
ariake no tsuki no keshiki mo wabishiki ni miseba ya mono o omou sakari wa | At dawn The moon’s appearance, too, Is pitiable, indeed; Should I reveal the profusion Of my melancholy thoughts? |
Toshiyori
Autumn Nights 秋夜
秋の夜の鳥のはつ音はつれもなき人待ちしよの心ちこそすれ
aki no yo no tori no hatsune wa tsure mo naki hito machishi yo no kokochi koso sure | On an autumn night The cock’s first crow Is cruel, indeed! That all night I’ve awaited him How well I feel that now! |
Toshiyori
'Simply moving and elegant'