On hearing the sound of a cicada at dawn at a mountain retreat.
ほのぼのにひぐらしの音ぞきこゆなるこやあけぐれと人はいふらむ
Fonobono ni
Figurasi no ne zo
kikoyunaru
ko ya akegure to
Fito Fa iFuramu |
Faintly
The cicada’s chirp
Comes to my ears;
Now ’tis the dusk before dawn,
So folk do say. |
When at a mountain retreat, on hearing the chirping of the evening cicadas.
葉をしげみゝやまのかげやまがふらむあくるもしらぬひぐらしの聲
Fa wo sigemi
miyama no kage ya
magaFuramu
akuru mo siranu
Figurasi no kowe |
Do the leaves in such profusion in
The mountains cast their shade that
Confused, perhaps, and
Unknowing of the dawn,
The evening cicadas chirp on? |
Late blooming blossom.
夏山の風こそにほへ蝉の羽のうすはな櫻けふや咲くらん
natsu yama no
kaze koso nioe
semi no ha no
usuhana zakura
kyô ya sakuran |
From the summer mountains
Comes the scent-laden wind;
A cicada wing of
Pale cherry blossom
Is in bloom today. |
寒いぞよ軒の蜩唐がらし
samui zo yo
noki no higurashi
kara garashi |
How cold it is!
Underneath the eaves, a cicada
Rasps away. |
蝉なくや我家も石になるやうに
semi naku ya
wa ga ya mo ishi ni
naru yo ni |
When the cicadas sing,
Even my house stone-built
Seems to be. |
On cicadas.
大佛のあなた宮様せみの聲
daibutsu no
anata miya sama
semi no koe |
This great Buddha:
Beyond it live Princes,
Amid the cicadas’ song. |
On thunderclouds.
立枯の木に蝉なきて雲のみね
tachigare no
ki ni semi nakite
kumo no mine |
In drought-stricken
Trees the cicadas sing, while
Thunderclouds gather. |
On cicadas.
頓て死ぬけしきは見えず蝉の聲
yagate shinu
keshiki wa miezu
semi no koe |
Soon to die
But there’s no sign of it
In the cicadas’ song. |
(1690)
On cicadas.
撞鐘もひゞくやうなり蝉の聲
tsuki kane mo
hibiku yô nari
semi no koe |
A tolling bell
Resounding is
The cicadas’ song. |
(1689)
On cicadas.
梢よりあだに落けり蝉のから
kozue yori
ada ni ochikeri
semi no kara |
From the treetops
How briefly fall
The cicada shells. |
(1677)
'Simply moving and elegant'