雪ちらりちらり見事な月夜哉
yuki chirari
chirari migoto na
tsukuyo kana |
The snowfall sparkles
Beautifully before
The moon’s light tonight. |
初雪や故郷見ゆる壁の穴
hatsuyuki ya
furusato miyuru
kabe no ana |
The first snow falls and
Through it I see my old home village:
Holes gaping in the walls. |
雪とけて村一ぱいの子ども哉
yuki tokete
mura ippai no
kodomo kana |
Snow melts and
The village fills up
With children. |
On snow.
雪國や粮たのもしき小家がち
yukiguni ya
kate tanomoshiki
koie gachi |
In the snow country
To want for provisions is
The way of all the little huts. |
On snow.
鍋さげて淀の小橋を雪の人
nabe sagete
yodo no kobashi o
yuki no hito |
Pots in hand
Across the little bridge at Yodo
Go women in the snow. |
On plum.
梅咲て小さくなりぬ雪丸げ
ume sakite
chiisaku narinu
yuki maroge |
Now the plum’s in bloom
How much smaller are
The snowballs. |
On snow melt.
雪解や妹が巨燵に足袋かたし
yuki doke ya
imo ga kotatsu ni
tabi katashi |
Cleaned of snow-melt,
On the stove my love puts
A single sock. |
On snow-viewing.
いざさらば雪見にころぶ所迄
iza saraba
yukimi ni korobu
tokoro made |
Well, if that’s the way-I’ll go to
See the snow, and slip over
In some spot, no doubt! |
(1687)
On snow: to someone whose child had died.
しほれふすや世はさかさまの雪の竹
shiorefusu ya
yo wa sakasama no
yuki no take |
Bent down by the weight-
The world seems back-to-front-
Snow heavy on the bamboo grove. |
(Ca. 1666)
On the first snows: when they were in the middle of building the great bridge at Fukakawa.
初雪やかけかゝりたる橋の上
hatsu yuki ya
kake kakaritaru
hashi no ue |
The first snows
Lie lightly upon
The half-built bridge. |
(1686)
'Simply moving and elegant'