Narihira heard that Fujiwara no Toshiyuki had become close to a lady at his house, and had sent her a letter saying that he was coming directly, but that the falling rain might cause him some trouble; Narihira composed this on her behalf.
数数に思ひ思はず問ひがたみ身を知る雨は降りぞまされる
| kazukazu ni omoFi omoFazu toFigatami mi wo siru ame Fa Furi zo masareru |
Politely, Do you love me or love me not, Is very hard to ask; The rain knows how I feel full well And falls all the harder. |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平
Once when Lord Narihira had gone into the province of Ise, he met in great secrecy with the lady serving as shrine priestess; on the following day, while he was thinking about how he had no way to send to her, this arrived from her.
君や來し我や行きけむ思ほえず夢かうつつか寢てかさめてか
| kimi ya kosi ware ya yukikemu omoFoezu yume ka ututu ka nete ka samete ka |
Did you come Or I go? I know not; Was it dream or truth? Sleeping or waking? |
Anonymous
On the morning after meeting a lady, he composed this and sent it to her.
寢ぬる夜の夢をはかなみまどろめばいやはかなにもなりまさる哉
| nenuru yo no yume wo Fakanami madoromeba iya Fakana ni mo narimasaru kana |
The night we slept together Was but a fleeting dream; In fitful doze Its brevity Seems all the greater. |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平
There was once a time when Narihira had got to know a lady in the eastern part of Gojō and visited her regularly. The relationship was secret, so he was unable to enter in through the gate and instead went in and out through a break in the fence. His visits mounted up until the master of the house got to know of it and placed a night-watchman in his path. Although Narihira came, he was unable to meet the lady and returning home, composed this and sent it to her.
人しれぬわが通ひぢの關守はよゐよゐごとにうちも寢ななむ
| Fito sirenu wa ga kayoFidi no sekimori Fa yowi yowi goto ni uti mo nenanamu |
Unknown to all The path I take; Oh, that the sentry On every night Would swiftly fall asleep. |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平
Topic unknown.
秋ののにささわけしあさの袖よりもあはでこしよぞひちまさりける
| aki no no ni sasa wakesi asa no sode yori mo aFade kosi yo zo Fiti masarikeru |
In the autumn fields Parting bamboo grass in the morning My sleeves On the nights when, without a meet, I head home, Are far, far wetter. |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平
Composed during a gentle rain and sent to a woman he had been secretly seeing since the first day of the Third Month.
おきもせずねもせで夜をあかしては春の物とてながめくらしつ
| oki mo sezu ne mo sede yoru wo akasite Fa Faru no mono tote nagame kurasitu |
Not awake and yet Not sleepless through the night, and With the dawn Comes a scene from Spring: Ever-falling rain to gaze upon all day. |
Ariwara no Narihira (825-880)
有原業平
At the archery display by the Bodyguards of the Right on the Sixth day of the Fifth month, faintly seeing a lady’s face through the curtains of her carriage, he composed this, and sent it to her.
見ずもあらず見もせぬ人のこひしくはあやなくけふやながめくらさむ
| mizu mo arazu mi mo senu Fito no koFisiku Fa ayanaku keFu ya nagamekurasan |
Not unseen, Yet not seen, lady; Have I longed To no purpose, today, Lost in thoughts of you? |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平
Once, when he had gone hunting in the company of Prince Koretaka, they dismounted by the banks of a river called Ama no Gawa (River of Heaven), and while they were tippling, the Prince commanded that Narihira offer him a wine cup with a poem expressing the feelings of a hunter arriving at the river of Heaven, so he composed the following:
かりくらしたなばたつめにやどからむあまのかはらに我はきにけり
| kari kurasi tanabatatume ni yado karamu ama no kaFara ni ware Fa kinkeri | While hunting night is falling, So from the Weaver Maid Let us beg lodging For to the Riverbank of Heaven Have we come! |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平
When they arrived at the banks of the Sumida River, between the provinces of Musashi and Shimotsūsa, they thought fondly of the capital and, dismounting for a while on the river bank, they thought sadly about how far they had come. While they were gazing into space, the ferryman said, “Get on the boat quickly! The sun is going down.” So, they boarded and were about to set off, each one thinking miserably about someone he had left in the capital, when they saw a white bird with a red bill and legs splashing about in the river shallows. As it was a bird never seen in the capital, none of them could say what it was, so they asked the ferryman, and he replied that it was a miyakodori (capital bird); hearing this, Narihira composed the following:
名にしおはばいざ事とはむ宮こどりわが思ふ人はありやなしやと
| na ni si oFaba iza koto toFamu miyakodori wa ga omoFu Fito Fa ari ya nasi ya to |
If your name fits you, There’s something I would ask, O, Capital bird: Is the lady in my thoughts Still quite safe? |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平