Composed on plovers on the road to the barrier.
あはぢしまかよふちどりの鳴く声にいくよねざめぬすまの関もり
| awajishima kayou chidori no naku koe ni ikuyo nezamenu suma no sekimori | Around Awaji Isle The plovers fly about; Their calling cries Start him awake on how many nights— The barrier warden of Suma? |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
Composed on blossom fallen on the water.
はなさそふあらしやみねをわたるらんさくらなみよるたにがはのみづ
| Fana sasoFu arasi ya mine wo wataruran sakuranami yoru tanigaFa no midu | Enticing the blossom Is it the storm wind upon the peak That passes o’er The cherry waves breaking In the waters of a valley stream? |
Lord Minamoto no Masakane
The first time he spoke with Kamo no Narisuke, he took a shallow wine-cup and composed:
ききわたるみたらしがはの水きよみそこのこころをけふぞみるべき
| kikiwataru mitarashigawa no mizu kiyomi soko no kokoro o kyō zo mirubeki | Listening, The River Mitarashi’s Waters are so pure That to the bottom of my heart I can see today. |
Kunimoto, the Governor of Tsu
Composed when at a stone hermitage at Ōmine practicing his devotions.
草のいほなに露けしと思ひけむもらぬいはやも袖はぬれけり
| kusa no iFo nani tuyukesi to omoFikemu moranu iFaya mo sode Fa nurekeri | A hut of straw Is dew-drenched You might think, but though Nothing drips into my hut of stone My sleeves are soaked, indeed! |
Archbishop Gyōson
Composed on seeing cherry blossom unexpectedly at Ōmine.
もろともにあはれとおもへ山ざくらはなよりほかにしる人もなし
| morotomo ni aFare to omoFe yamazakura Fana yori Foka ni siru Fito mo nasi | Won’t you as well Feel kind, O, mountain cherry? For other than your blossom, I have no acquaintances here at all… |
Archbishop Gyōson
Composed on hawking in the snow.
ぬれぬれもなほかりゆかむはしたかのうはげの雪をうちはらひつつ
| nurenure mo naFo kariyukamu Fasitaka no uFage no yuki wo utiFaraFitutu | Drenched, but even so Let us still hunt on! From my sparrowhawk’s Plumage the snow I’ll ever brush! |
Minamoto no Michinari
Composed on waiting for the moon by the water at Lord Kinzane’s residence.
夏の夜の月待つ程の手ずさみに岩もる清水いく結びしつ
| natsu no yo no tuki matu Fodo no tezusami ni iFa moru simidu iku musubisitu | On a summer night, Waiting for the moon, My hands keep busy by Through the pure water dripping from the rocks Running time and time again. |
Fujiwara no Mototoshi
Composed on the conception of love at the end of the Third Month.
春はをし人はこよひとたのむればおもひわづらふ今日のくれかな
| Faru Fa wosi Fito Fa koyoi to tanomureba omoFiwazuraFu keFu no kure kana | Regretting the departure of spring, and Tonight, my man Expecting, Wracked with painful thoughts Does today reach its dusk! |
The Minister of the Centre
Composed on spending spring accompanied by nothing but blossom.
ちらぬ間は花をともにて過ぎぬべし春よりのちのしる人もがな
| tiranu ma Fa Fana wo tomo nite suginubesi Faru yori noti no siru Fito mogana | While still unscattered The blossom is my only friend, and When ‘tis past And spring is gone, then Would I have folk to know! |
The Hanazono Minister of the Left
During the period when Izumi Shiku had accompanied Yasumasa to Tango, when there was a poetry match in the capital and Handmaid Koshikibu was selected as one of the poets, Lord Sadayori came to her chamber at the palace and went on at her, asking, ‘How are your poems coming along? Will you be sending them to your mother in Tango? Has your messenger not returned yet?’ and really seemed very unsettled about everything, so she composed this as a playful way of preventing him from going himself.
おほえ山いくのの道のとほければまだふみもみずあまのはしだて
| oFoeyama ikuno no miti no toFokereba mada Fumi mo miezu ama no Fasidate | In Ōeyama The path to Ikuno Lies far away, so I’ve not set foot upon it, or had a letter from Ama-no-Hashidate! |
Handmaid Koshikibu
