On the sound of snow in the middle of the night.
あけやらぬねざめのとこにきこゆなりまがきの竹の雪のしたおれ
akeyaranu
nezame no toko ni
kikoyu nari
magaki no take no
yuki no shitaore |
No hint of dawn, yet
Awakened in my bed
I hear it:
Bamboo against the lattice fence,
Boughs breaking in the snow. |
Minister of Punishments [Fujiwara no] Norikane
Topic unknown.
まくらにも袖にもなみだつらゝゐてむすばぬ夢をとふ嵐かな
makura ni mo
sode ni mo namida
tsuraraite
musubanu yume wo
tou arashi kana |
On my pillow and
My sleeves, tears
Are freezing:
Untouched by dreams
As the storm comes calling. |
The Regent and Grand Minister [Fujiwara no Yoshitsune] (1169 – 1206)
藤原良経
Topic unknown.
かつこほりかつはくだくる山がはのいはまにむせぶ曉の聲
katsu kori
katsu wa kudakuru
yamagawa no
iwama ni musebu
akatsuki no koe |
First frozen
Then breaking:
A mountain stream-
Choked between the rocks-
Finds its voice in the dark before dawn. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
藤原俊成
Topic unknown.
つのくにのなにはの春は夢なれやあしのかれ葉に風わたる也
tsu no kuni no
naniwa no haru wa
yume nare ya
ashi no kareba ni
kaze wataru nari |
In the land of Tsu,
Spring in Naniwa
Seems but a dream;
With the withered reeds
Blown by the wind… |
The Monk Saigyō
西行
Topic unknown.
野邊見ればお花がもとのおもひ草かれゆく冬になりぞしにける
nobe mireba
obana ga moto no
omoigusa
kareyuku fuyu ni
nari zo shinikeru |
When I look across the fields,
Beneath the miscanthus grass
The tender plants
Are withered; Winter is
Here, at last. |
Izumi Shikibu
和泉式部
Topic unknown.
かさゝぎのわたせるはしにをくしものしろきを見ればよぞふけにける
kasasagi no
wataseru hashi ni
oku shimo no
shiroki o mireba
yo zo fukenikeru |
On a magpie
Crossed bridge
Frost lies;
Seeing the whiteness
Night, indeed, is over. |
Middle Councillor [Ōtomo no] Yakamochi
大伴家持
From when he presented a hundred poem sequence.
さゝの葉はみ山もさやにうちそよぎこほれる霜を吹嵐かな
sasa no ha wa
miyama mo saya ni
uchisoyogi
koreru shimo o
fuku arashi kana | The bamboo grass leaves
In the moutain deeps clearly
Rustle:
The frozen frost
Blown by the storm, perhaps? |
The Regent and Grand Minister [Fujiwara no Yoshitsune] (1169 – 1206)
藤原良経
Topic unknown.
あきしのやと山のさとやしぐるらんいこまのたけに雲のかゝれる
akishino ya
toyama no sato ya
shigururan
ikoma no take ni
kumo no kakareru |
In Akishino
On the houses at the mountain’s hem
Showers must be falling, for
The mount of Ikoma
Is covered o’er with cloud. |
The Monk Saigyō
西行
Topic unknown.
月をまつたかねの雲ははれにけり心あるべきはつしぐれかな
tsuki o matsu
takane no kumo wa
harenikeri
kokoro arubeki
hatsu shigure kana |
Awaiting the moon
The peaks’ cloud cover
Has cleared away;
How sensitive,
Of that first shower! |
The Monk Saigyō
西行
From when she presented a fifty poem sequence.
からにしき秋のかたみやたつた山ちりあへぬえだに嵐ふくなり
karanishiki
aki no katami ya
tatsuta yama
chiriaenu eda ni
arashi fuku nari |
O, Cathay brocade:
Are you autumn’s keepsake?
On the mount of Tatsuta
Through the few remaining leaves
The storm comes blowing. |
Lady Kunaikyō
'Simply moving and elegant'