Composed when he saw snow lying white on Mount Fuji, at the end of the Fifth Month.
時しらぬ山はふじのねいつとてかかのこまだらに雪のふるらん
toki shiranu
yama wa fuji no ne
itsu tote ka
ka no ko madara ni
yuki no fururan |
It knows not the season,
The peak of Fuji Mountain;
When is it that
Fawn-dappled
Snow should fall? |
Narihira
業平
Topic unknown.
はるゝよのほしかゝはべの螢かもわがすむかたのあまのたくひか
haruru yo no
hoshi ka kawabe no
hotaru kamo
wa ga sumu kata no
ama no taku hi ka |
On this fine night,
Are those stars? Or, by the riverbank
Fireflies, perhaps?
Or even, near my home,
Fires kindled by the fisherfolk? |
Ariwara no Narihira
在原業平
Topic unknown.
あしのやのなだのしほやきいとまなみつげのをぐしもさゝずきにけり
ashi no ya no
nada no shio yaki
itoma nami
tsuge no ogushi mo
sasazu kinikeri |
In my reed-roofed hut,
On a stony shore, burning sea-salt
I have no time to spare, so
My little boxwood comb
I placed not in my hair, but came direct. |
Ariwara no Narihira
在原業平
Topic unknown.
むめの花かをのみ袖にとゞめをきてわがおもふ人はをとづれもせぬ
mume no hana
ka o nomi sode ni
todome okite
wa ga omou hito wa
otozure mo senu |
The plum blossoms’
Scent alone upon my sleeves
Remains;
The one I love
Will visit me no more. |
Narihira
業平
Topic unknown.
いでゝいにしあとだにいまだかはらぬにたがゝよひぢと今はなるらん
idete inishi
ato dani imada
kawaranu ni
ta ga kayoiji to
ima wa naruran |
Where I went back and forth
Now only tracks remain
Unchanging;
Whose path
Has this now become, I wonder? |
Narihira
業平
Topic unknown.
おもふにはしのぶることぞまけにけるあふにしかへばさもあらばあれ
omou ni wa
shinoburu koto zo
makenikeru
au ni shi kaeba
sa mo araba are |
By my love for you,
Has my desire for secrecy
Been totally defeated!
For a meeting,
I’ll pay any price that’s due! |
Narihira
業平
Topic unknown.
みるめかるかたやいづくぞさほさしてわれにをしへよあまのつり舟
mirume karu
kata ya izuku zo
sao sashite
ware ni oshieyo
ama no tsuribune |
Gathering algae
In the inlet, where do they lie?
Thrust out your pole, and plainly
Tell me, where are
The divers’ fishing boats? |
Narihira
業平
While at Utsu Mountain in Suruga, he thought of someone he had been meeting and sent this to the capital.
するがなるうつの山邊のうつゝにも夢にも人にあはぬなりけり
suruga naru
utsu no yamabe no
utsutsu ni mo
yume ni mo hito ni
awanu narikeri |
In Suruga
At the Utsu mountains
In truth and
In my dreams she
Is nowhere to be seen… |
Ariwara no Narihira
在原業平
When he was going toward the eastlands, he saw the smoke rising over Asama and composed:
しなのなるあさまのたけに立けぶりをちこち人のみやはとがめね
shinano naru
asama no take ni
tatsu keburi
ochikochi hito no
mi ya wa togamene |
In Shinano
From the high peak of Asama
Smoke rises;
The folk about
See, yet find no fault, I wonder why… |
Ariwara no Narihira
在原業平
Topic unknown.
白玉かなにぞと人のとひし時つゆとこたへてけなまし物を
shiratama ka
nani zo to hito no
toishi toki
tsuyu to kotaete
kenamashi mono o |
‘Those silvered droplets,
What are they?’ she
Asked, and
‘ They are dew,’ I did reply;
I would that I could fade, as do they… |
Ariwara no Narihira
在原業平
'Simply moving and elegant'