春のよのためしもしるし紀の国や吹上の波にかすむ月かげ
haru no yo no
tameshi mo shirushi
ki no kuni ya
fukiage no hama ni
kasumu tsukikage | A spring night’s
Exemplar and sign:
In the land of Ki,
Fukiage beach in
The hazy moonlight. |
161
Among his moon poems.
みやこにていかにかたらんきのくにやふきあげのはまの秋の夜の月
miyako nite
ika ni kataramu
ki no kuni ya
fukiage no hama no
aki no yo no tsuki | In the capital,
How can I describe
In the land of Ki
Fukiage beach
Lit by the autumn moon one night? |
Fujiwara no Mototsuna
藤原基綱
芦のやのなだのしほやき我なれやよるはすがらにくゆりわぶらん
ashi no ya no
nada no shioyaki
ware nare ya
yoru wa sugara ni
kuyuriwaburan | Beneath a roof of reeds
At Nada roasting salt
Am I!
All night long,
Smouldering with painful passion… |
470
夜をさむみ鴨のはがひにおく霜のたとひけぬとも色に出でめやも
yo o samumi
kamo no hagai ni
oku shimo no
tatoikenu tomo
iro ni ide ya mo | On a night so chill
Upon the ducks’ folded wings
Frost falls—
Even should my fate be the same
Would I ever reveal passion’s hue? |
430
うば玉のこのよなあけそしばしばもまだふるとしのうちぞとおもはん
ubatama no
kono yo na ake so
shibashiba mo
mada furu toshi no
uchi zo to omowan | Black as lily seeds,
This night I would not have dawn!
For a little while
That still in the old year I linger,
I would believe… |
405
Plovers on a cold night.
風さむみよのふけゆけばいもが島かたみのうらに千鳥なくなり
kaze samumi
yo no fukeyukeba
imogashima
katami no ura ni
chidori nakunari | So chill the wind
As the night wears on
At Imogashima,
On Katami Shore
The plovers cry. |
356
よをさむみ浦の松風吹きむすびむしあけの波に千鳥なくなり
yo o samumi
ura no matsukaze
fukimusubi
mushiake no nami ni
chidori nakunari | So cold the night, that
The pinewinds on the shore are
Choked in their blowing, as
Upon the waves at Mushiake
The plovers cry. |
354
Wind in the pines beneath the moon.
あまのはら空をさむけみむば玉のよわたる月に松風ぞ吹く
ama no hara
sora o samukemi
mubatama no
yo wataru tsuki ni
matsukaze zo fuku | The plain of Heaven,
The sky, seems cold, as
Through the lily-seed dark
Night crosses the moon, while
The wind blows through the pines. |
344
The moon above the riverside in winter.
千どりなくさほの河原の月きよみ衣手さむしよやふけぬらん
chidori naku
sao no kawara no
tsuki kiyomi
koromode samushi
yo ya fukenuran | Plovers cry, above
The riverside at Sao, where
The pure moon
Is cold upon my sleeves—
Might the night be wearing on? |
341
あしのははさはべもさやにおく霜のさむきよなよな氷りしにけり
ashi no ha wa
sawabe mo saya ni
oku shimo no
samuki yonayona
kōrishinikeri | Upon the reed-fronds by
The marshside, strikingly
Falls frost—
Cold night after cold night
Has it frozen. |
334
'Simply moving and elegant'
