Composed when a man who had said she could definitely rely on him to come with the evening, said she would not see him until the 20th of the month.
契りおきし人も梢の木間よりたのめぬ月の影ぞもりくる
tigiri okisi
Fito mo kozuwe no
ko no ma yori
tanomenu tuki no
kage zo morikuru
He promised, but
He does not come, and from the treetops
Through the trees
The fickle moon’s
Light comes dripping.
Horikawa, from the Regent’s Household
摂政家堀川
Composed on love at the dawn.
さりともと思ふ限は忍ばれて鳥と共にぞ音は鳴かれける
saritomo to
omoFu kagiri Fa
sinobarete
tori to tomo ni zo
ne Fa nakareru
“Even if it’s so…”
The depth of my love
I will conceal and
Simply with the birds
Cry myself out.
Head of the Department of Shintō [Minamoto no] Akinaka
神祇伯顕仲
逢ふ事のなきを浮田の杜にすむ呼子鳥こそ我が身なりけれ
aFu koto no
naki wo ukita no
mori ni sumu
yobukodori koso
wa ga mi narikere
That meet we
Do not is hard; in Ukita’s
Sacred groves will I dwell, and
As an ever crying bird
Shall I become!
Fujiwara no Tamezane
藤原為真
This poem only appears in variant editions of the Kin’yōshū text.
Composed gazing at the moon when there were baseless rumours about her.
如何にせむ歎の杜は茂けれど木の間の月の隱れなき世を
ika ni semu
nageki no mori Fa
sigekeredo
ko no ma no tuki no
kakurenaki yo wo
What am I to do?
The sacred groves of Nageki with grief
Grow lush, yet
Between the trees, from the moon
There is no hiding in this world.
The Daughter of Tachibana no Toshimune
橘俊宗女
Composed when a large number of the Junior Consort’s ladies conducted blossom-viewing during the reign of former Emperor Horikawa.
春毎にあかぬ匂をさくら花いかなる風のをしまざるらむ
Faru goto ni
akanu nioFi wo
sakurabana
ikanaru kaze no
woshimazaruramu
Every single spring
Never am I sated by
The cherry blossom;
What breeze is it that
Is not a cause of regret?
Chikuzen Wet Nurse
筑前乳母
Composed on falling leaves.
三室山もみぢちるらし旅人の菅の小笠 ににしきおりかく
mimuroyama
momidi tirurasi
tabibito no
suge no wogasa ni
siki orikaku
Upon Mimuro Mountain
The scarlet leaves seem to have fallen:
For upon the traveller’s
Little umbrella of sedge
Are they spread all over.
Minamoto no Tsunenobu
源経信
Composed when he was asked by people in the capital what the moon had been like, when he had returned there, after going to Akashi to gaze upon it, at a time when it was particularly bright.
有明の月もあかしの浦風に波ばかりこそよるとみえしか
ariake no
tuki mo akasi no
urakaze ni
nami bakari koso
yoru to miesika
The dawntime
Moon’s brightness, with Akashi’s
Beach breezes
Simply with the waves
Did seem to draw near with the night…
Taira no Tadamori
平忠盛
When there had been a gale, and someone had called to see how she was, in the silence later, she wrote this and sent it.
荒かりし風の後より絶えするは蜘蛛手にすがく糸にやあるらん
arakarisi
kaze no noti yori
taesuru Fa
kumode ni sugaku
ito ni ya aruran
Wildly
The wind has gone, and
Broken are
The spider’s spanning
Webs – is that how we are to be?
Sagami
相模
Composed when he had gone to Naniwa, and the moon was bright.
いにしへの難波の事を思出でゝ高津の宮に月のすむらむ
inisiFe no
naniFa no koto wo
omoFi’idete
takatu no miya ni
tuki no sumuramu
About ancient
Naniwa
I do recall:
Above the palace at Takatsu
How clear the moon does seem!
Consultant Moriyori
参議師頼
Topic unknown.
かくとだにまだいはしろの結松むすぼほれたるわが心かな
kaku to dani
mada iFasiro no
musubimatu
musuboForetaru
wa ga kokoro kana
To this love
I cannot give word – like Iwashiro’s
Bound pines
Ever tangled
Is my heart…
Minamoto no Akikuni (1055-1123)
源顕国
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