On the conception of love, in a hundred poem sequence.
あふ事のむなしき空のうき雲は身をしる雨の便りなりけり
au koto no
munashiki sora no
ukigumo wa
mi o shiru ame no
tayori narikeri | Meeting you is
A vain hope—empty as the skies, where
Drifting clouds are
The rainfall of my misery’s
Harbingers. |
Prince Kore’akira
惟明親王
An allusive variation on KKS XIV: 705.
Topic unknown.
春雨はいたくなふりそ桜花まだみぬ人にちらまくもをし
harusame wa
itaku na furi so
sakurabana
mada minu hito ni
chiramaku mo oshi | O, spring rains,
Foll not so hard!
The cherry blossom
Is yet unseen by folk who
Would regret its scattering |
Akahito
Topic unknown.
ものおもふといはぬばかりはしのぶともいかがはすべき袖のしづくを
mono’omou to
iwanu bakari wa
shinobu tomo
ikaga wa subeki
sode no shizuku o | That I am sunk in thought
I simply do not say;
I keep it hidden, yet
What am I to do about
The droplets on my sleeves? |
Akinaka, Head of the Department of Shinto
When she presented a hundred poem sequence.
まどちかき竹のはすさぶ風のおとにいとどみじかきうたたねの夢
mado chikaki
take no ha susabu
kaze no oto ni
itodo mijikaki
utatane no yume | Close by my window
The bamboo leaves rustle cheerily
In the wind—
How very brief
Is a dream when dozing. |
Princess Shokushi
Topic unknown.
いもやすくねられざりけり春の夜は花のちるのみ夢に見えつつ
i mo yasuku
nerarezarikeri
haru no yo wa
hana no chiru nomi
yume ni mietsutsu | Easy sleep
Has eluded me—
On a spring night
The scattering of blossoms, alone,
Does ever fill my dreams… |
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune
Composed on the bridge at Nagara.
春の日のながらのはまに舟とめていづれか橋と問へどこたへぬ
haru no ni no
nagara no hama ni
fune tomete
izure ka hashi to
toedo kotaenu | In the springtime sun
At the beach of Nagara
I halted my boat;
‘Where is the bridge?’ I
Asked, yet answer came there none. |
The Monk Egyō
From the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
神無月しぐれふるらしさほ山のまさきのかづら色まさり行く
kaminazuki
shigure fururashi
saoyama no
masaki no kazura
iro masarikeri | In the Godless Month
Showers fall, it seems, for
On Sao Mountain
The evergreen arrowroot’s
Hues are fine, indeed. |
Anonymous
From the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
霞立つ春の山辺にさくら花あかず散るとやうぐひすの鳴く
kasumi tatsu
haru no yamabe ni
sakurabana
akazu chiru to ya
uguisu no naku | Hazes rise from
The springtime moutainside, where
With cherry blossoms’
Scattering unsated, perhaps,
The warbler sings. |
Anonymous
Composed on the conception of the waters clogged with fallen leaves, when he had gone to the River Ōi.
高瀬舟しぶくばかりにもみぢ葉の流れてくだる大井河かな
takasebune
shibuku bakari ni
momijiba no
nagarete kudaru
ōigawa kana | The punts
Simply struggle in
The scarlet leaves
Flowing down
The River Ōi. |
Fujiwara no Ietaka
Topic unknown.
さざなみや志賀のからさき風さえてひらのたかねに霰ふるなり
sazanami ya
shiga no karasaki
kaze saete
hira no takane ni
arare furunari | Wavelets wash
Karasaki in Shiga, and
The wind is chill, so
On the high peaks of Hira
The hail must be falling. |
The Hosshōji Lay Priest, former Chancellor and Palace Minister [Fujiwara no Tadamichi]
'Simply moving and elegant'