Left (Tie)
さくらばないかでかひとのをりてみぬのちこそまさるいろもいでこめ
| sakurabana ikadeka hito no orite minu nochi koso masaru iro mo idekome | O, cherry blossom! Why would people Pick you—can not they see that ‘Tis later that your best Hues will emerge? |
Mitsune
15
Right
うたたねのゆめにやあるらむさくらばなはかなくみてぞやみぬべらなる
| utatane no yume ni ya aruramu sakurabana hakanaku mite zo yaminuberanaru | Dozing fitfully In my dreams might there be Cherry blossom? A brief glimpse, that Can be held right here… |
Mitsune
16
Maidenflowers
Left
なびくとや人はみるらんをみなへしおもふかたにぞかぜもふきける
| nabiku to ya hito wa miruran ominaeshi omou kata ni zo kaze mo fukikeru | ‘Are they trailing?’ Folk wonder at the sight of The maidenflowers, and As they thought The wind, too, was blowing… |
7
Right
おほかたののべなるよりはをみなへしねやのつまにてみるはまされり
| ōkata no nobe naru yori wa ominaeshi neya no tsuma nite miru wa masareri | So wide are The plains, but I’d rather A maidenflower— My wife in the bedchamber: Seeing her is better far! |
8
He had paid a visit to the house of an acquaintance where there was a plum tree. ‘When it blooms, I will certainly invite you to come,’ he was told, but when no letter arrived…
梅花今は盛りになりぬらんたのめし人のをとづれもせぬ
| mume no Fana ima Fa sakarini narinuran tanomesi Fito no wotodure mo senu | The plum blossom Is now profusely Blooming, it seems, but From the man I trusted Comes no note, at all… |
The Suzakuin Prince and Minister for War [Atsukata/Atsumoto]
A further poem:
時雨のみふる山里の木の下はをる人からやもり過ぬらん
| shigure nomi furu yamazato no ko no shita wa oru hito kara ya morisuginuran | Showers simply Fall upon a mountain retreat Beneath the trees; Has someone gone astray there To make them seem so endlessly thick? |
When he received these, His Majesty was not of a mind to respond. I have heard that he read the poems then showed them to someone, saying, `What is this about？I don’t understand!’, so it is said they had no effect.
Left (Tie)
われやうき人をこひぢになりぬればあはぬとだえに身をぞなしつる
| ware ya uki hito o koiji ni narinureba awanu todae ni mi o zo nashitsuru | I, toward a heartless Lady upon the paths of love Did tread, but As a broken bridge, no meeting Has befallen me! |
39
Right
ひたすらにわすれもぞするわすれぐさみずやあらましこひはしぬとも
| hitasura ni wasure mo zo suru wasuregusa mizu ya aramashi koi wa shinu tomo | So completely Am I forgotten by that Forgetful day-lily— She will not see me, it seems, Though I die of love for her. |
Mitsune
40
Left
おとはやまおとにききつつあふさかのせきのこなたにひとをまつかな
| otowayama oto ni kikitsutsu ausaka no seki no konata ni hito o matsu kana | As wing-beats in the mountains Do I hear tell: That on Meeting Hill Barrier’s inner side Someone does await me! |
Motokata
29
Right
そのはらやふせやにおふるははきぎのありとてゆけどあはぬきみかな
| sonohara ya fuseya ni ouru hahakigi no ari tote yukedo awanu kimi kana | At Sonohara By the rest-stop grows A sacred tree, they say; I catch a glimpse, yet Cannot meet with you! |
30
Left (Tie)
こひわびぬかなしきこともなぐさめむいづれなぐさのはまべなるらむ
| koiwabinu kanashiki koto mo nagusamemu izure nagusa no hamabe naruramu | Suffering the pain of love and Sadness, too, I would be consoled, so Where might Nagusa Beach lie, I wonder? |
27
Right
みぬ人のこひしきやなぞおぼつかなたれとかしらむゆめにみゆとも
| minu hito no koishiki ya nazo obotsukana tare to ka shiramu yume ni miyutomo | An unseen lady Do I love, but why? How strange it is— Is there any might know, Though I glimpse her in my dreams… |
Mitsune
28
Left (Tie)
おとぎきにあやなく人をこひそめてそれとだにみぬことのわびしさ
| otogiki ni ayanaku hito o koisomete sore to dani minu koto no wabishisa | By repute Pointlessly, a lady Have I begun to love, Without even seeing her, That is truly pitiable! |
25
Right
やまびこのおとにのみきくきみなればわれよりさきにとふ人もなし
| yamabiko no oto ni nomi kiku kimi nareba ware yori saki ni tou hito mo nashi | As a mountain spirit Word is all I hear Of you, so Before me Not a man will visit you! |
26