In the Tenth Month, when He was in Minase, He sent to Former Archbishop Jien saying He had been ‘soaked by the showers’ or some such; in the Godless Month of the following year, among a great number of undistinguished poems, He sent this.
おもひいづるおりたくしばのゆふけぶりむせぶもうれし忘がたみに
| omoiizuru ori taku shiba no yûkeburi musebu mo ureshi wasuregatami ni |
Remembering her, Snapped kindling Smoke in the evening Chokes me-happy For I can never forget her. |
The Senior Retired Emperor [Gotoba]
後鳥羽
After the death of Sada’ie’s mother, around autumn time he was staying at a temple near her grave and composed this.
まれにくる夜はもかなしき松風をたえずやこけのしたにきくらん
| mare ni kuru yo wa mo kanashiki matsu kaze o taezu ya koke no shita ni kikuran | Rarely did I come At nights now I sorrowfully Pine trees in the wind Unceasingly beneath the moss I wonder will you hear it? |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
One Autumn, in remembrance of his mother he had gone into seclusion at the Hōrin [Temple] and, when the storm winds were blowing strongly…
うきよにはいまはあらしの山かぜにこれやなれゆくはじめなるらん
| uki yo ni wa ima wa arashi no yama kaze ni kore ya nareyuku hajime naruran |
In this cruel world Now, the storm winds Off the mountain: Will I grow accustomed to them- Is this the first step, I wonder? |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
When a fellow monk had passed away, he composed this in remembrance of him.
ふるさとをこふる涙やひとりゆくともなき山のみちしばのつゆ
| furusato o kôru namida ya hitori yuku tomo naki yama no michishiba no tsuyu |
For his home, Much loved, tears fell: He goes alone Friendless among the mountain Grasses’ dewdrops. |
Former Archbishop Jien
慈円
When he was passing through the fields, having gone down to Michinoku, he saw an impressive tomb and asked whose it was; he was told it was the tomb of ‘the Captain’. On asking which Captain, he was told they meant Sanekata; it was winter, and he absently noted the miscanthus grass all around was withered by the frost and, feeling that there was nothing [there] that suited the time…
くちもせぬその名ばかりをとゞめをきてかれ野のすゝきかたみとぞみる
| kuchi mo senu sono na bakari o todomeokite kareno no sususki katami to zo miru |
Imperishable His name alone Remains left here; The frost-burned field of miscanthus Will be my keepsake. |
The Monk Saigyō
西行
In the Autumn [of the year] his mother died, on a day when a typhoon was blowing, he went to where she had lived…
たまゆらのつゆも涙もとゞまらずなき人こふるやどの秋風
| tamayura no tsuyu mo namida mo todomarazu nakibito koru yado no aki kaze |
Fleeting, indeed, are Dew and tear drops, both Unceasing; She loved This house, where Autumn winds blow now. |
Sada’ie
定家
After her mother’s death, composed on the evening of the funeral at Saga.
今はさはうきよのさがのゝべをこそつゆきえはてしあとゝしのばめ
| ima wa sa wa uki yo no saga no nobe o koso tsuyu kiehateshi ato to shinobame |
Now it is just so: In this fleeting world at Saga Field, indeed, has The dew vanished completely, and All I can do is recall the traces left behind. |
The Daughter of Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari