Stag.
有明の光をみても鳴く鹿は山よりいでぬ妻や待らん
ariake no
hikari o mitemo
naku shika wa
yama yori idenu
tsuma ya matsuran |
The morning moon’s pale
Light he sees, yet
The stag cries on;
Failing to emerge from amongst the mountains
Is his doe – does he await her, I wonder? |
Lanterns.
かひなしやいく夜もえてもさを鹿にあはぬ火串のむなし煙は
kainashi ya
iku yo moetemo
saoshika ni
awanu hogushi no
munashi kemuri wa |
How pointless!
Ablaze for many nights, yet
A stag
Attracting not, hunting torches
In moments turn to smoke. |
霜枯は尾花踏み分行く鹿の聲こそ聞かぬ跡は見えけり
shimogare wa
obana fumiwake
yuku shika no
koe koso kikanu
ato wa miekeri |
Frost-seared
Miscanthus grass, pushed aside by
A stag:
I cannot hear his call, yet
Here are his tracks. |
さをしかに手拭かさん角のあと
saoshika ni
tenugui kasan
tsuno no ato |
The stags
Proudly display
Their horn-buds. |
On deer.
鹿寒し角も身に添ふ枯木哉
shika samushi
tsuno mo mi ni sou
kareki kana |
The deer are cold, and
Their antlers seem apt
Among the leafless trees. |
On deer.
びいと啼尻聲悲し夜の鹿
bii to naku
shirigoe kanashi
yo no shika |
There’s a whine
In the drawn-out cries–so sad–
Of the stags at night. |
(8th day, Ninth Month, 1694)
On horn-buds: on parting from an old friend at Nara.
鹿の角先一節のわかれかな
shika no tsuno
mazu hito fushi no
wakare kana |
The deers’ antler-buds
Have just begun
To split apart–as must we. |
(1688)
When he composed a hundred poem sequence of reminiscences, he composed this as a poem on deer.
世中よ道こそなけれ思ひ入る山のをくにも鹿ぞ鳴くなる
yo no naka yo
miti koso nakere
omoFi’iru
yama no woku ni mo
sika zo naku naru |
O, the world of men!
There’s no escape, indeed,
I feel!
In the mountains’ heart
A stag calls out. |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office [Fujiwara no] Toshinari
藤原俊成
Composed at a poetry competition at Prince Koresada’s house.
あきはぎの花さきにけり高砂のをのへのしかは今やなくらむ
aki Fagi no
Fana sakinikeri
takasago no
onoFe no sika Fa
ima ya nakuran |
The Autumn bush clover
Blooms are in flower:
At Takasago’s
Peak, are the deer
Calling even now? |
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
Topic unknown.
秋はぎをしがらみふせてなくしかのめには見えずておとのさやけさ
akiFagi wo
sigaramiFusete
naku sika no
me ni Fa miezute
woto no sayakesa |
In Autumn bush clover
Entangled and trampling,
The bugling stag
Is out of sight;
How clear the sound, though. |
Anonymous.
'Simply moving and elegant'