On a place where plum blossom blooms.
わがやどの梅のはつはなさきにけりまつうぐひすはなどかきなかぬ
| wa ga yado no ume no hatsuhana sakinikeri matsu uguisu wa nado ka kinakanu | My dwelling’s First plum blossom Has bloomed, so Why has the long awaited warbler Not come to sing? |
After I had had various people compose on the scent of plum carried on the breeze.
このねぬるあさけの風にかをるなり軒ばの梅の春のはつ花
| kono nenuru asake no kaze ni kaoru nari nokiba no ume no haru no hatsubana | Having slept The dawntime breeze Is scented: Beneath my eaves the plum Shows spring’s first blossom. |
After I had had various people compose on the scent of plum carried on the breeze.
梅がかをゆめの枕にさそひきてさむるまちける春の山風
| ume ga ka o yume no makura ni sasoikite samuru machikeru haru no yamakaze | The scent of plum To my pillow, where I lay dreaming Was beckoned— Waiting ‘til I awakened did The mountain breeze in springtime. |
Plum-scented robes.
うめがかはわが衣手に匂ひきぬ花より過ぐる春の初かぜ
| ume ga ka wa wa ga koromode ni nioikinu hana yori suguru haru no hatsukaze | The fragrance of plum My sleeves has Come to scent, Carried from the blossom by The first breeze of spring. |
Plum blossom at an ancient estate.
たれにかもむかしをとはむ故郷の軒ばの梅は春をこそしれ
| tare ni kamo mukashi o towamu furusato no nokiba no ume wa haru o koso shire | Who is it that Of days long gone I might enquire? At this ancient estate The plum beneath the eaves Knows spring well, yet… |
Composed on plum blossom.
梅がえにこほれる霜やとけぬらんほしあへぬ露の花にこぼるる
| ume ga e ni kōreru shimo ya tokenuran hoshiaenu tsuyu no hana ni koboreru | Upon the plum tree’s branches The frozen frost Is melting, it seems— Never-drying dewdrops Overflow the blossom. |
Left 梅のはなしるきかならでうつろはば雪降りやまぬ春とこそ見め
| ume no hana shiru ki ka narade utsurowaba yuki furiyamanu haru to koso mime | Of the plum blossom Is this tree not aware, so If it fades An endless snowfall Will seem to mark this spring. |
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Right
春の日に霞わけつつとぶ雁の見えみみえずみ雲がくれ行く
| haru no hi ni kasumi waketsutsu tobu kari no mie mi miezu mi kumogakureyuku | The springtime sun Keeps breaking through the haze, so The geese, winging, Appear and are lost to view Vanishing within the clouds. |
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Winter
Left
冬くれば紅葉ふりしく神無月佐保の山辺はむべもりぬらん
| fuyu kureba momiji furishiku kaminazuki saho no yamabe wa mube morinuran | When the winter comes, Scarlet leaves, falling and scattering In the Godless Month, Upon the slopes of Mount Saho, Indeed, are at their finest. |
19
冬ごもりかれてみゆらん梅がえは今はた花の春はにほはん
| fuyugomori karete miyuran ume ga e wa ima hata hana no haru wa niowan | Sealed in winter, and All withered seeming, The plum tree’s branches, Now, for sure, the blossoms’ Spring will scent. |
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冬みれば水もまかせぬ小山田にいつすき返し種をまきけん
| fuyu mireba mizu mo makasenu oyamada ni itsu sukikaeshi tane o makiken | ‘Tis winter, I see, so There’s no water to draw for The little mountain paddies: O, when might I till them, and Sow my seeds, I wonder? |
21
Right
時雨降る宿にすまへば冬の夜に錦とみゆる木木の花かな
| shigure furu yado ni sumaeba fuyu no yo ni nishiki to miyuru kigi no hana kana | Showers fall Upon the house where I do dwell, so Upon a winter’s night As brocade do seem The blossoming trees! |
22
ゆふだすき神の社にかけつればしもし降るにもたのもしきかな
| yūdasuki kami no yashiro ni kaketsureba shimo shi furu ni mo tanomashiki kana | Sacred mulberry cords Around the God’s shrine Are hung, so Even amidst the frost fall, The future does seem bright! |
23
白雲のふたへふりしくときは山うらはへとしはみどりなりけれ
| shiragumo no futae furishiku tokiwa yama ura hae toshi wa midori narikere | Clouds of white Lie scattered, twofold, upon The unchanging mountain: Stretching out behind, the year Is simply green. |
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