This poem is said by some to be by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro.
池にすむ名ををし鳥の水をあさみかくるとすれどあらはれにけり
ike ni sumu
na wo wosidori no
midu wo asami
kakuru to suredo
araFarerinikeri | The pond is the home
Of the mandarins, they say; regretfully
In the shallow waters
They dive, yet
Still plainly do appear. |
妹に恋ひ寐ねぬ朝明にをし鳥のこゆかく渡る妹が使か
imo ni kopi
inenu asake ni
woshidori no
koyu kaku wataru
imo ga tukapi ka | Loving my darling
On a sleepless morning
The mandarins
Back and forth do go—
Her messengers, perhaps? |
Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
夜とともにおもふことなきをし鳥やかげとならびの池にすむらん
yo to tomo ni
omou koto naki
oshidori ya
kage to narabi no
ike ni sumuran | With night’s fall
Heedlessly
Does the mandarin
Together with his reflection
Seek to dwell upon the pond? |
Daishin
Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
をし鳥もくぐる岩ねのうす氷今朝やうは毛にとぢかさぬらん
oshidori mo
kuguru iwane no
usukōri
kesa ya uwage ni
tojikasanuran | The mandarins do
Dive beneath the ice-film
Round the rocks;
I wonder, will their down this morning
Be clogged with crystal layers? |
Toshiyori
Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
をし烏のつたふ岩ねに波かけてうきふしつみぬ身をぞ恨むる
oshidori no
tsutau iwane ni
nami kakete
ukifushi tsuminu
mi o zo uramuru | Mandarin ducks
Trail beside the craggy cliff where
Waves do break;
Weighed down with sorrows
I can but lament my lot! |
Akinaka
'Simply moving and elegant'
