鴬のこつたふ枝の移り香は桜の花のときの待つ衣
| ugupisu no ko tutapu eda no uturika pa sakura no pana no toki no matu kinu |
The bush warbler Tells me of the branches’ Fragrance: For cherry blossom Season does my robe await. |
Yamabe no Akahito
山辺赤人
Tag Archives: bush warbler
KKS I: 15
A poem from the Empress’ Poetry Competition in the Kanpyō period.
春たてど花もにほはぬ山里は物うかる音に鶯ぞなく
| Faru tatedo Fana mo niFoFanu yamazato Fa mono’ukaru ne ni uguFisu zo naku |
Spring has come, yet The blossoms do not shine At my mountain home How reluctantly Does the warbler sing… |
Ariwara no Muneyana
在原棟梁
KKS XX: 1081
青柳を片糸によりてうぐひすの縫ふてふ笠は梅のなながさ
| aoyanagi o kata ito ni yorite uguFisu no nuFu teFu kasa Fa mume no Fanagasa |
Willow tendrils Make fine thread, for The warbler To weave today a sun hat, A sun hat of plum blossom! |
KKS II: 108
Composed when it was said that a poetry competition was to be held at the residence of the Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber in the Ninna period.[1]
花のちることやわびしき春霞たつたの山のうぐひすのこゑ
| Fana no tiru koto ya wabisiki Farugasumi tatuta no yama no uguFisu no kowe | The falling of the flowers Is sad, indeed; In the spring haze On Tatsuta Mountain A warbler cries… |
Fujiwara no Chikage
[1] It was taboo to record the personal names of noble women of high rank unless they were made empress. The Ninna 仁和 period began on the 11th day of the Third Month, 885, and lasted until the 30th day of the Fifth Month, 889. ‘Lady of the Bedchamber’ (miyasudokoro 御息所) was a title given to imperial consorts who had given birth to a prince, while ‘Middle Captain’ (chūjō 中将) was a military position in the palace guards. Contemporary readers would have been able to identify who the ‘Lady who had given birth to an imperial prince and whose father held the position of Middle Captain during the Ninna period’ was, but modern scholarship has not done so; nor have full records of this poetry competition survived.
Sengohyakuban uta’awase 284
梅が枝の花のねくらば荒れ果てて桜にうつる鶯の声
| ume ga e no hana no nekuraba arehatete sakura ni utsuru uguisu no koe |
A branch of plum Blossoms was his roost, All completely ruined now; To the cherry has shifted The warbler’s song. |
Kiyosuke-shū 14
谷の戸にかへりやしぬる鶯の花のねくらば散り積りつつ
| tani no to ni kaFeri ya sinuru uguFisu no Fana no nekuraba tiritumoritutu |
To the valley door Does he return? The warbler Found his roost among the blooms, Now scattering and drifting… |
Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (1104-1177)
藤原清輔
Fubokushō XXI: 9550
我が惜しむ心も尽きぬ行く春をこさても止めよ鶯の関
| wa ga oshimu kokoro mo tsukinu yuku haru o ko satemo tomeyo uguisu no seki |
My regretful Heart is not exhausted: Departing spring! Even so be held here, By the bush-warbler’s barrier! |
MYS X: 1892
春山の霧に惑へる鴬も我れにまさりて物思はめやも
| paru yama no kiri ni madoperu ugupisu mo ware ni masarite mono’omopame ya mo |
In the springtime mountains’ Mists astray Is the bush-warbler More than I Lost in gloomy thought? |
MYS X: 1890
春山の友鴬の泣き別れ帰ります間も思ほせ我れを
| paru yama no tomo ugupisu no nakiwakare kaperimasu ma mo omopose ware wo |
In springtime in the mountains Bush-warblers Cry in parting; As you make your way back home Think so of me! |
MYS V: 841
鴬の音聞くなへに梅の花我家の園に咲きて散る見ゆ
| ugupisu no oto kiku nape ni ume no pana wagipe no sono ni sakitetiru miyu |
When the bush-warbler’s Song I hear, The plum blossom In my dwelling’s garden Blooming and then scattering, I see. |
Clerk of Tsushima, Kōji no Oyu
對馬目高氏老