In reply:
おもひきやはかなくをきし袖のうへのつゆをかたみにかけん物とは
| omoiki ya hakanaku okishi sode no ue no tsuyu o katami ni kaken mono to wa |
Did I ever think on it… In fleeting moments fallen Upon the sleeves, Of we two, the dewdrops, in memory of her, Hang – binding. |
Jōtōmon’in [Fujiwara no Shōshi (998-1074)]
Sent back when the Jōtōmon Empress enquired after [Izumi Shikibu’s daughter] Koshikibu no Naishi after she had died, saying, ‘Send Me her Cathay robes patterned with dew spattered bush clover.’
をくと見しつゆもありけりはかなくてきえにし人をなにゝたとへん
| oku to mishi tsuyu mo arikeri hakanakute kienishi hito o nani ni tatoen |
Fallen, I saw The dew-and it’s still there; In fleeting moments She was gone and now To what can I compare her? |
Izumi Shikibu
和泉式部
Composed on a spring by a pine tree in the Sixth Month, for a folding screen for the Daijō Festivities in the Ninth Year of Kenkyū (1199).
ときはなる松井の水をむすぶてのしづくごとにぞちよはみえける
| tokiwa naru matsui no mizu o musubu te no shizuku goto ni zo chi yo wa miekeru |
In Tokiwa The waters from the pine-tree spring are Held in gathered hands- Every single drop that falls Shows the passage of a thousand years. |
Provisional Middle Councillor [Fujiwara no] Sukezane
A rice-hulling poem presented from the Eastern Section at the Daijō Festivities in the First year of Nin’an (1166).
あふみのやさかたのいねをかけつみてみちあるみよのはじめにぞつく
| ōmi no ya sakata no ine o kaketsumite michi aru miyo no hajime ni zo tsuku |
In Ōmi At Sakata the rice Lies piled high; For my Lord’s reign to follow the way, First, we must hull it. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
Sent to Hiyoshi Junior Priest [Haburibe no] Narinaka for his seventieth birthday celebrations.
なゝそぢにみつのはまゝつおいぬれどちよのゝこりは猶ぞはるけき
| nanaso ji ni mitsu no hama matsu oinuredo chi yo no nokori wa nao zo harukeki |
In their seventieth year The pines upon the beach at Mitsu Are aged, yet The remainder of their thousand years Stretches to yet greater distance. |
[Fujiwara no] Kiyosuke
藤原清輔
In the First year of Kaō (1169) the Lay Priest and Former Regent and Grand Minister was in Uji and had people compose on ‘the waters of the river will be eternally clear’.
としへたるうぢのはしもりことゝはんいくよになりぬ水のみなかみ
| toshi hetaru uji no hashimori koto towan iku yo ni narinu mizu no minakami |
Ancient Bridge Guardian of Uji, I would ask you, For how many ages has The waters come from their source? |
[Fujiwara no] Kiyosuke
藤原清輔
Composed on the moon as a friend over many autumns at the poetry competition in the Poetry Office on the evening of the 15th of the Eighth Month.
たかさごの松もむかしになりぬべしなをゆくすゑは秋のよの月
| takasago no matsu mo mukashi ni narinubeshi nao yukusue wa aki no yo no tsuki |
The Takasago Pines will in the past Recede, no doubt; Still into the future passes The moon on Autumn nights. |
The Monk Jakuren
寂蓮