Looking at the moon.
消えかへり物思秋の衣こそ涙の河の紅葉なりけれ
kiekaFeri
mono’omoFu aki no
koromo koso
namida no kaFa no
momidi narikere |
Completely swallowed up
In desolation, this autumn
Garb
With a river of tears
Has turned scarlet. |
Kiyowara no Fukayabu
When poems were commanded by His Majesty, during the Engi period.
秋の野に置く白露を今朝見れば玉やしけるとおどろかれつつ
aki no no ni
woku siratuyu wo
kesa mireba
tama ya sikeru to
odorokaretutu |
On the Autumn fields
Have fallen silver dewdrops;
This morning the sight
Was as scattered jewels,
Before my astonished eyes. |
Tadamine
忠岑
Topic unknown.
ゆく螢雲の上までいぬべくは秋風吹くと雁に告げこせ
yuku Fotaru
kumo no uFe made
inubeku Fa
aki kaze Fuku to
kari ni tugekose |
O, flitting fireflies,
Beyond the clouds
Should you ascend, then say,
‘ The Autumn wind is blowing!’
To the geese. |
Narihira
業平
His reply:
秋萩を色どる風は吹ぬとも心はかれじ草葉ならねば
aki Fagi wo
irodoru kaze Fa
Fukinu tomo
kokoro Fa karezi
kusaba naraneba |
To the Autumn bush clover
A wind bringing scarlet hues
May blow, yet,
My heart is not a distant, withered
Blade of grass. |
Ariwara no Narihira (825-880)
有原業平
Sent to him from a woman’s house around the Seventh Month:
秋萩を色どる風の吹ぬれば人の心もうたがはれけり
aki Fagi wo
irodoru kaze no
Fukinureba
Fito no kokoro mo
utagaFarekeri |
To the Autumn bush clover
The wind brings scarlet hues;
When it blows
A man’s heart
May give one cause to doubt. |
Anonymous.
Topic unknown.
夢よりもはかなき物は夏の夜の曉がたの別なりけり
yume yori mo
Fakanaki mono Fa
natu no yo no
akatukigata no
wakare narikeri |
Far more than dreams,
How fleeting, and piteous, is
A summer night’s
Dawn
Parting. |
Mibu no Tadamine
壬生忠岑
Topic unknown.
木がくれて五月待つとも郭公羽ならはしに枝うつりせよ
kogakurete
satuki matu tomo
Fototogisu
Fane naraFasi ni
eda uturiseyo |
Hidden ’mongst the trees
Awaiting the Fifth Month, yet,
O, Little Cuckoo,
At least try to spread your wings
And hop from branch to branch. |
Ise (d. ca. 939)
伊勢
On the road, on a profusion of blossom around the Third Month.
折つればたぶさにけがる立てながら三世の佛に花たてまつる
wori tureba
tabusa ni kegaru
tatenagara
miyo no Fotoke ni
Fana tatematuru |
Were I to pluck one,
My hand would besmirch it, so
As they stand
To the Three Worlds’ Buddhas
I’ll proffer these flowers. |
Archbishop Henjō
僧正遍照
His reply:
風にしも何かまかせん櫻花匂あかぬに散るはうかりき
kaze ni si mo
nani ka makasen
sakurabana
niFoFi akanu ni
tiru Fa ukariki |
With the wind,
What is there to rest?
The cherry blossoms
Hue did not sate me, so
Their falling is a bitter grief. |
[Fujiwara no] Atsutada (906-943)
After Sukenobu’s Mother died, Atsutada often visited the house; when the cherry blossoms were falling, he was beneath a tree, when someone from the house said:
今よりは風にまかせむ櫻花散るこのもとに君とまりけり
ima yori Fa
kaze ni makasemu
sakurabana
tiru ko no moto ni
kimi tomarikeri |
From this point on
It rests with the wind;
Cherry blossoms
Fall yet, beneath the tree, with his son
My Lord has remained. |
Anonymous
'Simply moving and elegant'