The Ninth Day of the Ninth Month
老いはてて露のしるしもなき身にはなほやをりてん長月の菊
oihatete
tsuyu no shirushi mo
nakimi ni wa
nao ya oriten
nagatsuki no kiku | Greatly aged,
The dew is a sign of
What is gone;
Should I yet pick
A chrysanthemum in the Ninth Month? |
Daishin
大進
The Ninth Day of the Ninth Month
なが月の九日までにふくみだるとをかのきくの花びらけなん
nagatsuki no
kokonuka made ni
fuku midaru
tōka no kiku no
hana birakenan | For the Ninth Month’s
Ninth day,
Its garb disarrayed
On the Tenth, the chrysanthemum
Does surely open up its blooms! |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
The Ninth Day of the Ninth Month
人のみな命はるかにになが月と聞くにつけてぞけふはうれしき
hito no mina
inochi haruka ni
nagatsuki to
kiku ni tsukete zo
kyō wa ureshiki | For each and everyone
That life should last long;
In the Ninth Month
With chrysanthemums,
Today is pleasant, indeed! |
Minamoto no Akinaka
源顕仲
祈りつつなほ九月の菊の花いづれの秋か植て見ざらむ
inoritutu
naFo nagatuki no
kiku no Fana
idure no aki ka
uwete mizaramu |
As we pray,
The Ninth Month’s
Chrysanthemum blooms:
Will there ever be an autumn
When they go unplanted? |
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
九月の九日ごとに摘む菊の花もかひなく老いにけるかな
nagatuki no
kokonoka goto ni
tumu kiku no
Fana mo kaFinaku
oinikeru kana |
On every Ninth Month’s
Ninth day,
The plucked chrysanthemum
Blooms, too, pointlessly
Do age! |
Hōō
ほうわう
'Simply moving and elegant'