Lilac Daphne
Left (Tie)
かたをかにひのはなばなにみえつるはこのもかのもにたれかつけつる
| kataoka ni hi no hanabana ni mietsuru wa konomo kanomo ni tare katsuketsuru | Upon the hillside The fires as flowers Do appear— Here and there, Who has kindled them? |
Tsurayuki
17
Right
わたつみのおきなかにひのはなれいでてもゆとみゆるはあまつほしかも
| watatsumi no oki naka ni hi no hanare’idete moyu to miyuru wa ama tsu hoshi kamo | Across the broad sea sweep Upon the offing, fires In the distance Burn it seems— Stars within the heavens, perhaps… |
Tomonori
18
Azaleas
Left
かりがねにおもひかけつつしのばなんあまつそらなるわが身なりとも
| kari ga ne ni omoikaketsutsu shinobanan ama tsu sora naru wa ga mi naritomo | Upon the goose cries Ever hang your thoughts, and Remember, that Within the sky-spanning heavens I may yet be… |
Sadafun
15
Right
うぐひすのこゑなつかしくなきつるはのちもこひつつしのばなむとか
| uguisu no koe natsukashiku nakitsuru wa nochi mo koitsutsu shinobanamu to ka | Does the warbler’s Song so charmingly Ring out that Later, ever fondly Will he be remembered? |
16
Left
雁のねは風にきほひてわたれどもわが待つ人のことづてぞなき
| kari no ne wa kaze ni kioite wataredomo wa ga matsu hito no kotozute zo naki | The goose cries Competing with the wind Come across, yet From the man I’m waiting for There is no word at all… |
92
Right
大空をとりかへすとも見えなくにほしかとみゆる秋の草かな
| ōzora o torikaesu tomo mienaku ni hoshi ka to miyuru aki no kusa kana | The heavens Claimed back, they Do not appear to be, yet Somehow, they seem like stars: These autumn grasses! |
93
Left
春ながら年はくれなん散る花ををしと鳴くなる鶯のこゑ
| haru nagara toshi wa kurenan chiru hana o oshi to nakunaru uguisu no koe | ‘Tis spring, but The year draws to an end; ‘The scattering blossom I regret!’ sings The warbler’s song. |
23[1]
Right
大空をおほふばかりの袖もがな春咲く花を風にまかせじ
| ōzora o ōu bakari no sode mogana haru saku hana o kaze ni makaseji | If only the heavens I could simply cover With my sleeves, then The blossoms blooming in springtime I’d not abandon to the wind! |
24[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 35; Shinchokusenshū II: 88.
[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 263.
When His Majesty was particularly impressed by his reply, and presented him with two rolls of silk.
きのふまでうらみしかぜはおほぞらのうきくもはらふつかひなりけり
| kinō made uramishi kaze wa ōzora no ukikumo harau tsukai narikeri | Until yesterday I did despise the wind: The heavens Sweeping clear of drifting clouds – That was its task. |
Mibu no Tadami
A poem with two envoys, composed in respectful response to Tachiyama.
朝日さし そがひに見ゆる 神ながら 御名に帯ばせる 白雲の 千重を押し別け 天そそり 高き立山 冬夏と 別くこともなく 白栲に 雪は降り置きて 古ゆ あり来にければ こごしかも 岩の神さび たまきはる 幾代経にけむ 立ちて居て 見れども異し 峰高み 谷を深みと 落ちたぎつ 清き河内に 朝さらず 霧立ちわたり 夕されば 雲居たなびき 雲居なす 心もしのに 立つ霧の 思ひ過ぐさず 行く水の 音もさやけく 万代に 言ひ継ぎゆかむ 川し絶えずは
| asapi sasi sogapi ni miyuru kamu nagara mina ni obasesu sirakumo no tipe wo osiwake ama sosori takaki tatiyama puyu natu to waku koto mo naku sirotape ni yuki pa puri okite inisipe yu arikinikereba kogosikamo ipa no kamusabi tama kiparu ikuyo penikemu tatiwite miredomo ayasi minedakami tani wo pukami to otitagitu kiyoki ka puti ni asa sarazu kiri tati watari yupu sareba kumowi tanabiki kumowi nasu kokoro mo sino ni tatu kiri no omopi sugusazu yuku midu no woto mo sayakeku yoroduyo ni ipitugi yukamu kapa si taezu wa |
The morning sun shines At my back,and Divine Your great name links: Clouds of white In a thousand layers, you pierce, and Tower into the heavens, Tall Tachiyama! In winter and, in summer both Indistinguishably are you Clad in mulberry white Fallen drifts of snow; Since ancient days Ever has been your estate, Fastened round with Crags divine； ‘til all souls end Have countless ages passed! Standing here, I see you, yet am awed by Your lofty peak and Valley’s deep, where Plunge seething cataracts of Waters pure to pools where Morning never leaves – Mists rise and roll across, and When the evening comes Clouds trail in and Cover all, Even, with sadness, my heart, so The rising mists Never leave my thoughts, and of Your running waters’ Clear, pure sound Through ten thousand ages Will I ever tell Unending as a river’s flow… |
Ōtomo no Ikenushi
大伴池主