As a moon poem
月きよみ秋のよいたくふけにけりさほの川原に千鳥しばなく
tsuki kiyomi
aki no yo itaku
fukenikeri
sao no kawara ni
chidori shiba naku | Pure is the moon
On this autumn night so
Late;
From the riverside at Sao
Piercing are the plovers’ cries. |
秋風に夜のふけゆけば久かたの天のかはらに月かたぶきぬ
akikaze ni
yo no fukeyukeba
hisakata no
ama no kawara ni
tsuki katabukinu | With the autumn breeze
The night wears on, so
Toward eternal
Heaven’s riverside
The moon is setting. |
いまはしもわかれもすらし棚機のあまの河原にたづぞ鳴くなる
ima wa shimo
wakare mo surashi
tanabata no
ama no kawara ni
tazu zo nakunaru | Now, above all painful
Parting does seem to be for
The Weaver Maid
On Heaven’s riverside
The cranes are a’crying. |
ひこぼしのゆきあひをまつ久かたのあまのかはらに秋風ぞふく
hikoboshi no
yukiai o matsu
hisakata no
ama no kawara ni
akikaze zo fuku | Where the Herd Boy, the stars’
Alignment awaits, upon
The eternal
Heaven’s riverside
The autumn wind is blowing. |
久かたの天の河原をうちながめいつかとまちし秋も来にけり
hisakata no
ama no kawara o
uchinagame
itsuka to machishi
aki mo kinikeri | Upon eternal
Heaven’s riverside
Did I gaze—
Eagerly have I awaited
Autumn’s arrival, too. |
Autumn breezes.
ながむれば衣手さむし夕づくよさほの川原の秋のはつ風
nagamureba
koromode samushi
yūzukuyo
sao no kawara no
aki no hatsukaze | When I gaze out,
How chill my sleeves,
On the evening of a moonlit night
Along the Sao riverside, from
The first breeze of autumn. |
Stones 石
君が代のかずにしとらばうちのぼるさほのかはらの石もたえじな
kimi ga yo no
kazu nishi toraba
uchinoboru
sao no kawara no
ishi mo taeji na | The years of My Lord’s reign:
Should I number up, then they would be as
The upper courses of
The banks of Sao River –
Its stones never-ending! |
Kanemasa
On the moon.
鬼老て河原の院の月に泣く
oni oite
kawara no in no
tsuki ni naku |
Even the ogre has grown old and
At the Kawara Palace
Weeps in the moonlight. |
'Simply moving and elegant'
