On plum blossom.
春もやゝけしきとゝのふ月と梅
haru mo yaya
keshiki totonou
tsuki to mume |
Spring is, at long last,
Here, it feels, in the
Moon and plum blossom. |
(1693)
On plum blossom.
人も見ぬ春や鏡のうらの梅
hito mo minu
haru ya kagami no
ura no mume |
No one sees
This spring–on the mirror’s
Underside blooms plum. |
(1692)
On plum.
梅白し昨日や鶴をぬすまれし
mume shiroshi
kinô ya tsuru wo
nusumareshi |
The plum blossom’s so white–
Was it yesterday the cranes
Were stolen? |
(1685)
On plum.
梅柳さぞ若衆哉女かな
mume yanagi
sa zo waka shu kana
onna kana |
Plum blossom and a willow tree:
The former as a handsome youth, the latter
As a woman. |
(1682)
Plum.
ふるゆきにいろまどはせるむめの花うぐひすのみやわきてしのばん
furu yuki ni
iro madowaseru
mume no hana
uguisu nomi ya
wakite shinoban |
The falling snow’s
Shade is as that of
The plum blossom;
The warbler, alone,
Can truly tell one from the other, perhaps. |
The Suga Posthumous Grand Minister [Sugawara no Michizane]
菅原道真
春さればまづ咲くやどの梅の花独り見つつや春日暮らさむ
paru sareba
madu saku yado no
ume no pana
pitori mitutu ya
paru pi kurasamu |
When the spring has come
First flowering at my dwelling is
The plum blossom;
In solitude, will I gaze on it
And spend the day in springtime! |
Yamonoue no Okura
山上憶良
'Simply moving and elegant'