Left
ねざめつつみをうぐひすのねをぞなくはなさかりにしきみをこふれば
nezametsutsu
mi o uguisu no
ne o zo naku
hana sakarinishi
kimi o koureba | Every time I wake,
My flesh, as a warbler,
Lets out sobbing cries,
For, fair as a blossom in bloom,
It is you I long for, my lady… |
7
Right
ことにいでてなにかいふべきねざめつつこふるしたひもそらにとくらむ
koto ni idete
nani ka iubeku
nezametsutsu
kouru shitahimo
sora ni tokuramu | To put it into words,
What is there I can say?
Every time I wake,
Your underbelt, which I want so,
Seems to be loosening in the skies alone. |
8
The End of Autumn.
Left
琴の音に声よりあはせなく虫の秋のはつるはえこそしのばね
koto no ne ni
koe yori awase
naku mushi no
aki no hatsuru wa
e koso shinobane | A zither’s strains
Blended with the songs
The insects cry,
That autumn is ending
They truly cannot recall! |
19
Right
長月の菊にぞ人をたのみつる花ひらくとも心うつるな
nagatsuki no
kiku zo hito o
tanomitsuru
hana hiraku tomo
kokoro utsuru na | In the Longest Month
A chrysanthemum, in a man
Has placed its trust—
The bloom may open, yet
O, change not your heart! |
20
Left
夏の月ひかりをしまず照る時はながるる水にかげろふぞたつ
natsu no tsuki
hikari o shimazu
teru toki wa
nagaruru mizu ni
kagerō zo tatsu | When summer moon’s
Light lightly
Shines
From the running waters
Haze arises! |
74
Right
琴の音にひびきかよへる松風はしらべても鳴く蝉の声かな
koto no ne ni
hibikikayoeru
matsukaze wa
shirabetemo naku
semi no koe kana | A zither’s strains
Echoing back and forth:
The wind through the pines,
In tune with the cries
In the cicadas’ song! |
75[1]
[1] Shinshūishū III: 303/Shinsen man’yōshū 73/Kokin rokujō I: 398/Fubokushō IX: 3584
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
琴の音にひびきかよへる松風をしらべてもなく蝉のこゑかな
koto no ne ni
hibikikayoeru
matsukaze wa
shirabetemo naku
semi no koe kana | A zither’s strains
Echoing back and forth:
The wind through the pines,
In tune with the cries
In the cicadas’ song! |
Anonymous
山ざとは秋こそものはかなしけれねざめねざめにしかはなきつつ
yamazato wa
aki koso mono wa
kanashikere
nezame nezame ni
shika wa nakitsutsu | A mountain retreat in
Autumn is much more
Sad;
Waking, ever waking
To the stags constant cries… |
29
ことのねをかぜのしらべにまかせてはたつたひめこそあきはひくらし
koto no ne o
kaze no shirabe ni
makasete wa
tatsustahime koso
aki wa hikurashi | A zither’s strains
By the wind tuned
Up—
Princess Tatsuta
Is plucking out the notes of autumn, it seems. |
30
朝ごとに山にたちまふ朝霧は紅葉みせじとをしむなりけり
asagoto ni
yama ni tachimau
asagiri wa
momiji miseji to
oshimu narikeri | With every morning
Twining round the mountains
The morning mists – that
They cannot reveal the scarlet leaves
Is regrettable, indeed! |
7
秋の夜は人をしづめてつれづれと掻きなす琴の音にぞたてつる
aki no yo wa
hito o shizumete
tsurezure to
kakinasu koto no
ne ni zo tatetsuru | On an autumn night
When folk are all abed,
Idly
Plucked a zither’s
Strains sound out. |
8
Zithers 筝
まつかぜの吹くにかよひてことの音は秋のしらべの身にもしむかな
matsukaze no
fuku ni kayoite
koto no ne wa
aki no shirabe no
mi ni mo shimu kana | The wind through pine trees
Blowing blending with
A zither’s notes—
The melodies of autumn
Do pierce my soul! |
Daishin
Zithers 筝
くり返しむかしのことをひきかけてしらぶるからにねこそながるれ
kurikaeshi
mukashi no koto o
hikikakete
shiraburu kara ni
ne koso nagarure | Time and time again
An ancient zither
Is played, and
When tuned, its
Notes flow all the better! |
Higo
Zithers 筝
さ夜ふけて物の音たかくなりぬらししらぶることはことぢあぐなり
sayo fukete
mono no ne takaku
narinurashi
shiraburu koto wa
kotoji agu nari | Brief night breaks, and
The notes do louder
Seem to grow;
Tuned, a zither
Is lifted by its bridge. |
Kanemasa
Zithers 筝
玉の緒はたえしもせぬをひく人もなきことをのみもたるみぞうき
tama no o wa
tae shimo senu o
hiku hito mo
naki koto o nomi
motaru mi zo uki | My jewelled thread of life,
Stretches on, unending, with
No one to pluck it,
Simply, a having a zither
Makes me desolate, indeed! |
Tadafusa
'Simply moving and elegant'
