おもひやれとはで程ふる五月雨に独やどもる袖の雫を
| omoiyare towade hodo furu samidare ni hitori yado moru sode no shizuku o | Lost in thoughts of you, Time without a visit passes by As a summer shower In my lonely home leaks Droplets on my sleeves… |
Lady Higo
25
In reply
世とともにさてのみこそはすぐししか思ひしりぬや袖の雫を
| yo to tomo ni sate nomi koso wa sugushishika omoishirinu ya sode no shizuku o | Together with the world All stayed the same As it passed by; Could I be ignorant of The droplets on your sleeves? |
The Middle Counsellor
26
つらしともいざやいかがはいはし水あふせまだきにたゆる心は
| tsurashi to mo iza ya ikaga wa iwashimizu ause madaki ni tayuru kokoro wa | How cruel! Why as Spring waters rushing from the rocks did Our meeting swiftly Did you wish to end? |
Kazusa, in service to the Empress
23
In reply
世世ふともたえじとぞ思ふ神がきの岩ねをくぐる水の心は
| yo yo futomo taeji to zo omou kamigaki no iwane o kuguru mizu no kokoro wa | Age upon age may pass, yet Never shall we end, I feel, as from The sacred precinct’s Rocky roots flow Waters—that is my heart! |
24
Later, on the second day of the Fifth Month, it appears that everyone, quite losing their composure, decorated their replies extravagantly and even painted pictures beneath them; later, on the seventh day of the same month, because His Majesty sent instructions to the ladies who had been present to compose love poems and attend him, on that day they attended him to present their poems.
ほととぎす待つにつけてもささがにのいづれの世にかしる時ぞ思ふ
| hototogisu matsu ni tsukete mo sasagani no izure no yo ni ka shiru toki zo omou | A cuckoo I do await, and yet The tiny crab— On which night is it?— Will know the time, I hope! |
Echizen
21
しるし有りてこぬよもあれや時鳥中中かけしくものふるまひ
| shirushi arite konu yo mo are ya hototogisu nakanaka kakeshi kumo no furumai | Should there be a sign, Would there really be a night he failed to come, That cuckoo? Truly to be trusted was The spider’s spinning… |
The Major Counsellor
22
忍ぶれど物思ふ人はうき雲の空に恋する名をのみぞたつ
| shinoburedo mono’omou hito wa ukigumo no sora ni koisuru na o nomi zo tatsu | I kept it secret, yet She, who is the focus of my thoughts, is As a drifting cloud Within the sky, and of my love Rumours, alone, do rise toward her. |
Middle Captain Morotoki, Fourth Rank
19
恋すともいかでか空に名はたたじ忍ぶる程は袖につつまで
| koisu to mo ikade ka sora ni na wa tataji shinoburu hodo wa sode ni tsutsumade | You love, so How is it that the skies Could remain untouched by rumours? Your secret You’ve not kept wrapped within your sleeves… |
Lady Aki, in service to the Empress Dowager
20
人しれぬ思ひありそのはま風に浪のよるこそいはまほしけれ
| hito shirenu omoi ariso no hamakaze ni nami no yoru koso iwamahoshikere | Unknown to all My passion burns—toward a rocky Beach the breeze Brings waves–that I would tell you! |
Middle Captain Toshitada
17
In reply.
おとにきくたかしの浜のあだ波はかけじや袖のぬれもこそすれ
| oto ni kiku takashi no hama no adanami wa kakeji ya sode no nure mo koso sure | By repute Upon Takashi Beach Break faithless waves, so Had I not better keep away? Lest my sleeves Should end up soaked! |
18[1]
[1] This poem is attributed to Kii, from the residence of Imperial Princess Sukeko 祐子内親王家紀伊 in Hyakunin isshu (72).
数ならで世に住江のみをつくしいつを待つともなき身なりけり
| kazu narade yo ni sumie no mi o tsukushi itsu o matsu tomo nakimi narikeri | Countless are The generations spent at Sumie, with The channel buoys: exhausted What should I await but To be dead. |
Master of the Left Capital Office Toshiyori
15
In reply
ながれてもあふせは絶えじ住江の身をつくしてもくちはててなん
| nagaretemo ause wa taeji sumie no mi o tsukushitemo kuchihatetenan | Flowing on, yet The rapids’ meetings will not cease; At Sumie with The channel buoys, you may be exhausted, but Would you rot away… |
Kazusa, in service to the Empress
16
なごのうみの浦べにおふる浜つづらたえまくるしき物をこそ思へ
| nago no umi no urabe ni ouru hamatsuzura taema kurushiki mono o koso omoe | At Nago, by the sea Upon the beach grows Chasteberry: At the breaks between, sad Indeed, are my thoughts. |
Minister of Justice [Minamoto no] Toshisane
13
浜つづらたへまたへまを歎かせてくるしと思ふわがこころぞは
| hamatsuzura taema taema o nagekasete kurushi to omou wa ga kokoro zo wa | Chasteberry: The many breaks between Do cause me grief, and Pain is the feeling that Fills my heart! |
Kai, from the Shijō Palace
14
A further poem, from the same gentleman.
つらさには思ひ絶えなんとおもへどもかなはぬ物はなみだなりけり
| tsurasa ni wa omoi’oenan to omoedomo kanawanu mono wa namida narikeri | Your cruelty You might wish to cease, I thought, yet Entirely matchless are My tears. |
The Consultant
11
In reply.
うけひかぬあまの小船のつなで縄たゆとて何か苦しかるらん
| ukehikanu ama no obune no tsunade nawa tayu tote nanika kurushikaruran | You’ll not draw in A fisher-girl’s skiff with A rope that’s Snapped, I think, and what Might be painful about that? |
Higo, from the Palace
12
おもひ侘び恋路にまよふしるべには涙ばかりぞさきに立ちける
| omoiwabi koiji ni mayou shirube ni wa namida bakari zo saki ni tachikeru | Suffering with passion, and Lost upon the paths of love My guide is Simply my tears that Set out before me. |
Consultant and Middle Captain Tadanori
9
The reply, written in a style to blend in with the picture on the paper, of a many-petalled safflower, and attached to a stem of bellflower, made from metal.
恋路をばふみだに見じと思ふみに何かはかかる涙なるらん
| koiji oba fumi dani miji to omou mi ni nani ka wa kakaru namida naruran | Upon the path of love I’ve not seen you take even one step I feel, so Why might you show such Tears, I wonder? |
Kii, in service to the former Kamo Virgin
10
ながれ出づるしづくに袖は朽ちはてておそふる方もなきぞかなしき
| nagare’izuru shizuku ni sode wa kuchihatete osouru kata mo naki zo kanashiki | Flowing out These droplets my sleeves Have completely rotted, and That I have no way to halt them Makes me sad, indeed. |
The Major Controller of the Left
7
おく網のうけもひかれぬものゆゑに何かはあまの袖のくつらん
| oku tsuna no uke mo hikarenu mono yue ni nani ka wa ama no sode no kutsuran | Cast out, your line’s Floats, she’ll not draw in, So Why would a fisher-girl Have rotten sleeves, I wonder? |
Yurika, from the Hall of the Junior Consort
8