When His Excellency, Kintsugu, in response to an imperial command, made a pilgrimage to the Grand Shrine, on the occasion of his return, this was sent to him from among the court ladies attending the Ise Virgin.
うれしさもあはれもいかにこたへまし古郷人に問はれましかば
| ureshisa mo aware mo ika ni kotaemashi furusatobito ni towaremashikaba | Of my joy, and Sadness, too, how I would tell My old friend from home Should he ask of them… |
Anonymous
On the conception of the moon at dawn, for the Kasuga Poetry Match.
天の戸をおしあけがたの雲間より神よの月の影ぞ残れる
| ama no to o oshi akegata no kumoma yori kamiyo no tsuki no kage zo nokoreru | Upon the gates of Heaven Pushing brightening Through the cloud-gaps From the Age of Gods, the moon’s Light lingers. |
The Regent and Chancellor
An allusive variation on SKKS XIV: 1260.
Sent with something to Dharma Master Sosen[i] when he was away.
| oki tsu nami yasoshima kakete sumu chidori kokoro hitotsu to ikaga tanomamu | The waves out in the offing Break o’er the eighty islets, where Plovers dwell— Our hearts as one: How can I trust that? |
607
[i] Sosen 素暹 (?-1263) did not take orders until 1245-46, some twenty-six years after Sanetomo’s assassination in 1219, so at the time of this poem’s composition, he would still have been known by his secular name, Tō no Taneyuki 東胤行.Taneyuki, like his father, Shigetani 重胤 (1177?-1247?) was a close attendant of Sanetomo, and he continued this service after the latter’s death, eventually serving Kujō Yoritsune 九条頼経 (1218-1256), Kujō Yoritsugu 九条頼嗣 (1239-1256) and Prince Munetaka 宗尊(1242-1274), the fourth, fifth and sixth Kamakura shoguns, respectively, although Shigetani took orders following Sanetomo’s death. Both father and son were known as waka poets, with Sosen having twenty-two poems in imperial anthologies from Shokugosenshū.
今こむとたのめし人はみえなくに秋風さむみ雁は来にけり
| ima komu to tanomeshi hito wa mienaku ni akikaze samumi kari wa kinikeri | ‘I’m coming now,’ I trusted those words of his, but There is no sign, only, Carried on the chill autumn wind Have the geese appeared.[i] |
606
[i] See: Topic unknown. いまこむとたのめしことをわすれずはこのゆふぐれの月やまつらん ima komu to / tanomeshi koto o / wasurezu wa / kono yūgure no / tsuki ya matsuran ‘ “I’m coming now,” / If, that she trusted those words of mine / She has not forgotten, then / This evening / The moon might she be awaiting, too? ’ Fujiwara no Hideyoshi (Shinkokinshū XIII: 1203)
I sent this to the residence of someone, who had gone to a distant province, when they had said they’d return around the Eighth Month and there had been no sign of them by the Ninth.
| komu to shimo tanomenu uwa no sora ni dani akikaze fukeba kari wa kinikeri | That they would come, even I Do not expect of the heights of The heavens, but When the autumn wind has blown, The geese have arrived.[i] |
605
[i] See: Love carried on the wind. きくやいかにうはのそらなる風だにもまつにおとするならひありとは kiku ya ika ni / uwa no sora naru / kaze dani mo / matsu ni otosuru / narai ari to wa ‘Do you hear it? Well? / From the heavens’ heights / Even the wind, / To come whispering among the pines / Has grown accustomed.’ Kunaikyō (Shinkokinshū XIII: 1199); and: A poem from the poetry competition at Prince Koresada’s house. 秋風にはつかりがねぞきこゆなるたがたまづさをかけてきつらむ akikaze ni / hatsukari ga ne zo / kikoyunaru / ta ga tamazusa o / kaketekitsuran ‘On the autumn wind / Come the first goose cries. / I hear them; / Whose letters / Do they bring, I wonder?’ Ki no Tomonori (Kokinshū IV: 207)
I sent this in parting to a court lady who had served me closely, when she said she was going to a distant province.
山とほみ雲ゐにかりのこえていなば我のみひとりねにやなかなん
| yama tōmi kumoi ni kari no koeteinaba ware nomi hitori ne ni ya nakanan | Distant the mountains, where Within the clouds, the geese Pass over—should you, too, then Will I, alone, simply Be left to sob out my cries?[i] |
604
[i] See: 朝霞 蒙山乎 越而去者 吾波将恋奈 至于相日 asagasumi / tanabiku yama o / koete’inaba / are wa koimu na / awamu hi made ni ‘The morning haze / Trailed mountains / Should you pass beyond, then / Will I ever yearn for you / Until the day we meet once more…’ (Man’yōshū XII: 3188)
