A poem by Ōtomo no sukune Yakamochi when he arrived at a maiden’s gate.
妹家之 門田乎見跡 打出来之 情毛知久 照月夜鴨
いもがいへの かどたをみむと うちいでこし こころもしるく てるつくよかも
imo ga ipe no
kadota wo mimu to
uti’idekosi
kokoro mo siruku
teru tukuyo kamo | My darling’s house has
Rice fields before its door—to see them
Have I come,
My heart brightened on
A shining moonlit night! |
Created with Soan.
月夜よみ鳴く霍公鳥見まく欲り我れ草取れり見む人もがも
tukuyo yomi
naku pototogisu
mimakupori
ware kusa toreri
mimu pito mogamo | On a fair moonlit night
A calling cuckoo
Did I wish to see, so
I went gathering grasses—
If only there was one to see me! |
Anonymous
泊瀬の斎槻が下に我が隠せる妻あかねさし照れる月夜に人見てむかも
patuse no
yutuki ga sita ni
wa ga kakuseru tuma
akane sasi
tereru tukuyo ni
pito mitemu kamo |
Beneath Hatsuse’s
Divine zelkova
Did I conceal my love, but
Shining madder red
So bright is the moon tonight
Someone may find her out! |
Anonymous
'Simply moving and elegant'
