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! |
Left
月夜には花とぞ見ゆる竹のうへに降りしく雪を誰かはらはむ
| tsukiyo ni wa hana to zo miyuru take no ue ni furishiku yuki o tare ka harawamu | On a moonlit night As blossom it appears, so From the bamboo The fallen, scattered, snow— Who would sweep it away? |
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Right
しら雪を分けてわかるるかたみには袖に涙のこほるなりけり
| shirayuki o wakete wakaruru katami ni wa sode ni namida no kōru narikeri | That through the snow so white I pressed on, forging, A keepsake is The tears upon my sleeves, All frozen. |
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