Composed on rivers.
泊瀬川白木綿花に落ちたぎつ瀬をさやけみと見に来し我れを
patusegapa
sirayupupana ni
otitagitu
se no sayakemi to
minikosi ware wo |
The River Hatsuse
As white mulberry blossom
Tumbles;
The rapids feel so fresh to
Me, come to gaze upon them… |
Anonymous
かくらくのとませの山の山際にいさよふ雲は妹にかもあらむ
kakuraku no
tomase no yama no
yamagiFa ni
isayoFu kumo Fa
imo ni kamo aramu |
Hidden away,
By Tomase Mountain’s
Foothills
Waver clouds:
Where, perhaps, my darling is! |
Composed on mountains.
三諸つく三輪山見れば隠口の泊瀬の桧原思ほゆるかも
mimoro tuku
miwayama mireba
komoriku no
patuse no pipara
omopoyuru kamo |
When divine-praising
Miwa Mountain do I see,
Closed in and concealed
Hatsuse’s cypress groves
Enter my thoughts! |
Anonymous
五月雨は宿につく間の菖蒲草軒の雫に枯れしとぞ思ふ
samidare wa
yado ni tsuku ma no
ayamegusa
noki no shizuku ni
kareshi to zo omou |
When the showers
Touch my roof
The sweet-flags by
Droplets on the eaves
Are all dried up, I feel! |
Ōe no Masafusa
風の間に散る淡雪のはかなくてところどころに降るぞわひしき
kaze no ma ni
tiru aFayuki no
Fakanakute
tokorodokoro ni
Furu zo wabisiki |
In the breeze
Scatter soft snow flurries
So brief that
Its intermittent
Fall is sad, indeed… |
薄霧のまかき籬の花の朝じめり秋は夕べと誰か言ひけむ
usugiri no
magaki no hana no
asajimeri
aki wa yūbe to
tare ka iikemu |
Faintly misted
On the rough fence, the blooms
Are damp with morning;
“But in autumn ‘tis the evening…”
Who would tell them that? |
Fujiwara no Kiyosuke
When he was composing on the autumn moon.
葎しく庵の庭の夕露を玉にもてなす秋の夜の月
mukurashiku
iori no niwa no
yūzuyu o
tama ni motenasu
aki no yo no tsuki |
Tangled weeds spread around
The garden of my hut;
Evening dew
A garland of jewels
From the moon this autumn night. |
Saigyō
西行
On the 13th night of the Ninth Month.
今宵はと心え顔に澄む月の光もてなす菊の白露
koyoi wa to
kokoro egao ni
sumu tsuki no
hikari motenasu
kiku no shiratsuyu |
“Tonight is it!”
Knowingly
The limpid moon’s
Light garlands
Silver dewfall on the chrysanthemums. |
Saigyō
西行
When he was composing a large number of poems about the moon.
なかなかにときどき雲のかかるこそ月をもてなす飾りなりけれ
nakanaka ni
tokidoki kumo no
kakaru koso
tsuki o motenasu
kazari narikere |
Truly
On occasion the clouds
Do drape
In garlands on the moon
And do decorate it! |
Saigyō
西行
世の中を後になせる山里にまづさし向かふ夕顔の花
yo no naka o
ushiro ni naseru
yamazato ni
mazu sashimukau
yūgao no hana |
The everyday world
I put behind me
At a mountain dwelling where
First crawl in
Moonflowers… |
Minamoto no Yorimasa
源頼政
'Simply moving and elegant'