Old Folk 老人
くろかみも色かはりゆきみる人のいとふばかりにおいにけるかな
kurokami mo
iro kawariyuki
miru hito no
itou bakari ni
oinikeru kana | My raven tresses’
Hue has changed with the snow, and
Folk who see
Simply avoid me with distaste –
Such is having grown old! |
Daishin
Old Folk 老人
toshitsuki no
yuki tsumoru ni mo
kurokami no
kawaru sugata no
hazukashiki kana | With the months and years
Snow drifts up upon
My raven tresses – their
Changing form is
So embarrassing! |
Higo
Old Folk 老人
おきなさび立ゐもやすくをられねばつら杖つきてけふもくらしつ
okina sabi
tachi’i mo yasuku
orareneba
tsurazue tsukite
kyō mo kurashitsu | As an old gent should,
Standing at ease is
Impossible for me, so
With my hand on my chin
Have I spent this day, too. |
Kanemasa
Old Folk 老人
あさなあさなみれどむかしのかげならで日にそへおいのますかがみかな
asana asana
miredo mukashi no
kage narade
hi ni soe oi no
masukagami kana | Each morn
I look, yet yesterday’s
Face fails to appear, and
With each passing day, old age
Is clear within my mirror! |
Tadafusa
Old Folk 老人
しくちひくあこのはまやに年ふりていやみにましばしめられにけり
shikuchi hiku
ako no hamaya ni
toshi furite
iyami ni mashiba
shimerarenikeri | Fishing for mullet
From a hut on Ako Beach
Have I got on in years, and
Detestation deeply
Is graven on my heart. |
Toshiyori
Old Folk 老人
朝露をひさしき物とおもふ世にほとけの兄にいかでなりけん
asatsuyu o
hisashiki mono to
omou yo ni
hotoke no ani ni
ikade nariken | My morning dew is
A thing of times long gone
I feel, but in this world
The Buddha’s four-score years and one
How might I attain? |
Nakazane
Old Folk 老人
いやましにひたひのなみはかくれどもきえてもとしのゆきつもるかな
iyamashi ni
hitai no nami wa
kakuredomo
kiete mo toshi no
yuki tsumoru kana | More and more
The waves upon my forehead
Do I seek to hide, yet
Though they vanish, the years
In drifts of snow appear! |
Akinaka
'Simply moving and elegant'