On snow.
鍋さげて淀の小橋を雪の人
nabe sagete
yodo no kobashi o
yuki no hito |
Pots in hand
Across the little bridge at Yodo
Go women in the snow. |
On drizzle.
古傘の婆さと月夜の時雨哉
furugasa no
basa to tsuki yo no
shigure kana |
Old umbrellas
Spring up by the score on a moonlit night
When the rain comes down. |
On drizzle.
老が戀わすれんとすれば時雨哉
oi ga koi
wasuren to sureba
shigure kana |
In my age all
I would forget–then
Down comes the rain! |
On the winter moon.
石となる樟の梢や冬の月
ishi to naru
kusu no kozue ya
fuyu no tsuki |
Destined to be stone are
The camphor trees–above their topmost branches
Shines the winter moon. |
On winter nights.
鋸の音貧しさよ夜半の冬
nokogiri no
oto mazushisa yo
yowa no fuyu |
A saw’s
Sound I hear–so poor to work–
On a winter’s night. |
On cold.
寺寒く樒はみこぼす鼠かな
tera samuku
shikimi hamikobosu
nezumi kana |
The temple’s so chill
That gnawing on the star anise
Are the mice. |
On the beginning of winter.
初冬や日和になりし京はづれ
hatsu fuyu ya
hiyori ni narishi
kyô hazure |
Winter comes
And with it the weather
Outside of the capital. |
On bush-clover.
小狐の何にむせけむ小萩はら
kogitsune no
nani ni musekemu
kohagiwara |
The fox-cubs:
What do they snuffle for
Among the growth of young bush-clover. |
On chrysanthemums.
手燭して色失へる黄菊哉
teshokushite
iro ushinaeru
kigiku kana |
By candlelight
They lose their hue:
Yellow chrysanthemums. |
On autumn leaves.
小原女の足の早さよ夕もみぢ
owarame no
ashi no hayasa yo
yû momiji |
Peddler girls,
A spring in their step,
Gather among the scarlet leaves at evening time. |
'Simply moving and elegant'