A poem by Ōtomo no sukune Yakamochi when he arrived at a maiden’s gate.
妹家之 門田乎見跡 打出来之 情毛知久 照月夜鴨
いもがいへの かどたをみむと うちいでこし こころもしるく てるつくよかも
| imo ga ipe no kadota wo mimu to uti’idekosi kokoro mo siruku teru tukuyo kamo | My darling’s house has Rice fields before its door—to see them Have I come, My heart brightened on A shining moonlit night! |
Composed on a day during the reign of former Emperor Horikawa when the ladies of the court went to visit the blossom in the Eastern hills.
たちかへりまたやとはまし山かぜに花ちる里の人のこころを
| tachikaeri mata ya towamashi yamakaze ni hana chiru sato no hito no kokoro o | Rising and returning Only to once more pay a curious call: The breeze from off the mountains Scattering blossom round the estate Where lies my lady’s heart… |
Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Morotoki
Composed as a love poem, when she presented a hundred poem sequence.
うき人をしのぶべしとは思ひきやわが心さへなどかはるらん
| ukibito wo sinobubesi to Fa omoFiki ya wa ga kokoro saFe nado kaFaruran | Of that heartless man I would secretly be fond, I thought, so why Does my heart, too, Seem to have changed? |
Taikenmon’in Horikawa
Composed as a love poem, when she presented a hundred poem sequence.
あら磯の岩にくだくる浪なれやつれなき人にかくる心は
| ara’iso no iFa ni kudakuru nami nare ya turenaki Fito ni kakuru kokoro Fa | Along the stony shore Upon the rocks shattering Are the waves—just like That cruel man does Break my heart, perhaps? |
Taikenmon’in Horikawa
Topic unknown.
君をのみ思ひねにねし夢なればわが心から見つるなりけり
| kimi wo nomi omoFine ni nesi yume nareba wa ga kokoro kara mituru narikeri | You, alone, it was I loved when I fell asleep and Dreamed of you, but It was my heart’s longing That I did see. |
Mitsune
When a woman told him to throw himself into a pool.
身をすててふかきふちにも入りぬべしそこの心のしらまほしさに
| mi o sutete Fukaki Futi ni mo irinubesi soko no kokoro no siramaFosisa ni | I shall cast off all restraint, and Into a deep pool, indeed, Plunge— For at the bottom your heart’s depths I would come to know… |
Minamoto no Michinari
He borrowed a mirror from the house of a woman for whom he was feeling passionate thoughts which he had yet to reveal, wrote this on the inside and returned it.
ますかがみ心もうつる物ならばさりともいまはあはれとや見む
| masukagami kokoro mo uturu mono naraba sari tomo ima Fa aFare to ya mimu | Could this clear glass Reflect my heart, as well, Could it do that, then Well, now how Pitiful would I appear? |
Lord Fujiwara no Kinhira
Composed for the Palace Poetry Match in Kanna 2[1].
秋の夜の月に心のあくがれて雲井に物をおもふ比かな
| aki no yo no tuki ni kokoro no akugarete kumowi ni mono wo omoFu koro kana | On an autumn night The moon my heart Draws forth, and What lies beyond the clouds is The object of my thoughts then! |
Former Emperor Kazan
[1] The headnote here is erroneous, as the text of this contest records it as taking place in Kanna 1 [985].
Sent to the house of a lady whom another man was visiting regularly.
われならぬ人に心をつくば山したにかよはむ道だにやなき
| ware naranu hito ni kokoro o tsukubayama shita ni kayowamu michi dani ya naki | ‘Tis not I, but Another man your heart Holds close—Tsukuba Mountain Has secret paths to go back and forth, But is there none for me? |
Lord Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu
