きくの露わかゆばかりにそでふれて花のあるじに千代はゆづらむ
kiku no tsuyu
wakayu bakari ni
sode furete
hana no aruji ni
chiyo wa yuzuramu | Chrysanthemum dew a little
Youth, just, will
Bring to my sleeves;
To the flower’s mistress
I would gift a thousand generations! |
人にまだをられぬものをたれにこのすきものぞとはくちならしけん
hito ni mada
orarenu mono o
tare ka kono
sukimono zo to wa
kuchinarashiken | No man has yet
To pick me, so
Who is it that might have
A sour but saucy
Taste within his mouth? |
Murasaki Shikibu
すき物と名にしたてればみる人のをらですぐるはあらじとぞおもふ
sukimono to
na ni shi tatereba
miru hito no
orade suguru wa
araji to zo omou | Sour but saucy
Is what folk say, so
At the sight, there’s no man
Would pass by and not pick one up—
Of that I’m sure! |
Michinaga
しら露はわきてもおかじをみなへし心からにや色のそむらむ
shiratsuyu wa
wakite mo okaji
ominaeshi
kokoro kara ni ya
iro no somuramu | Silver dewdrops
Fall where they will, so
Surely, ’tis the maidenflower’s
Own heart that
Stains her with such hues? |
Michinaga
をみなへしさかりの色をみるからにつゆのわきける身こそしらるれ
ominaeshi
sakari no iro o
miru kara ni
tsuyu no wakikeru
mi koso shirarure | This maidenflower’s
Vibrant hues
I see, and
That the dew makes no difference
To me—how well I know it! |
Murasaki Shikibu
'Simply moving and elegant'