A poem by Lord Ono no Oyu, Junior Assistant Governor-General of Dazai.
青丹吉 寧樂乃京師者 咲花乃 薫如 今盛有
あをによし奈良の都は咲く花のにほふがごとく今盛りなり
awoni yosi
nara no miyako pa
saku pana no
nipopu ga gotoku
ima masakari nari | Good blue-black clay—
Nara, the capital,
As the flowering blossom
Glows,
Is in full-bloom today. |
Composed on early snow for a palace poetry contest held in Eishō 4 [1049].
みやこにもはつゆきふればをの山のまきのすみがまたきまさるらん
miyako ni mo
Fatuyuki Fureba
wonoyama no
maki no sumigama
takimasaruran | In the capital, too
When the first snow falls
Among Onoyama’s
Evergreens the charcoal kilns
Seem to smoulder more and more. |
Sagami
Sent when the Hōjōji Lay Priest and Former Regent was in seclusion at the Kiyomizu Temple.
滝のおともいかがきくらん都だにものあはれなる比にも有るかな
taki no oto mo
ikaga kikuran
miyako dani
mono’aware naru
koro ni mo aru kana | The waterfall’s sound:
Do you hear it, I wonder?
Even in the capital
My heart is moved
At this time, too! |
Former Emperor Kazan
花山院御製
Left
をとめ子がひかげのうへに降る雪は花のまがふにいづれたがへり
otomego ga
hikage no ue ni
furu yuki wa
hana no magau ni
izure tagaeri | Maidens
In the sunlight, with
The falling snow;
Such a blending of blossoms—
How do they differ? |
145
Left
かきくらし散る花とのみふる雪は冬のみやこの雲のちるかと
kakikurashi
chiru hana to nomi
furu yuki wa
fuyu no miyako no
kumo no chiru ka to | Quickly darkening with
Scattered blossom that is simply
Falling snow,
Is the capital in winter
Strewn with cloud? |
146
Composed on the road, when it was springtime, and he was on his way from the countryside to the capital.
みわたせばみやこはちかくなりぬらんすぎぬる山はかすみへだてつ
miwataseba
miyako Fa tikaku
narinuran
suginuru yama Fa
kasumi Fedatetu | When I gaze across,
The capital closer
Has become, it seems;
The mountains I have passed
Lie beyond the haze. |
Minamoto no Michinari
Winter moonlight at a mountain retreat.
やまおろしのけしきばかりやふゆならむみやこなりせば秋のよの月
yama’oroshi no
keshiki bakari ya
fuyu naramu
miyako nariseba
aki no yo no tsuki | The wind howling down the mountain
Simply sets a scene of
Seeming winter, but
Were I in the capital,
An autumn night’s moon, would this be… |
Love Separated by Distant Roads 隔遠路恋
都人恋しきまでにおとせぬはなこその関をさはるにやあらん
miyakobito
koishiki made ni
oto senu wa
nakoso no seki o
sawaru ni ya aran | My lady in the capital
Is more dear than
Words can tell, so
Why should the Barrier at Nakoso,
Close by, stand between us? |
Kanemasa
First Snow 初雪
めづらしき花のみやこの初雪を九重にさへふらしてぞみる
mezurashiki
hana no miyako no
hatsuyuki o
kokonoe ni sae
furashite zo miru | Unusually,
On the flower that is the Capital
Has fallen the first snow –
The ninefold palace gates
Have summoned it, it seems! |
Toshiyori
First Snow 初雪
都人まづこはみせん山ざとの庭のこけぢにふれるはつ雪
miyakobito
mazu ko wa misen
yamazato no
niwa no kokeji ni
fureru hatsuyuki | To folk from the capital
First of all would I show
My mountain home’s
Mossy garden paths, where
The first snow has fallen. |
Nakazane
New Year’s Day
冬の夜を旅の空にてあかしてや都に春の今朝は来るらむ
fuyu no yo o
tabi no sora nite
akashite ya
miyako ni haru no
kesa wa kururamu | A winter’s night
Spent under the skies a’travelling;
With breaking dawn
To the capital has spring
Come this morning, I wonder? |
Kanemasa
'Simply moving and elegant'