A poem composed by Lord Ōtomo, Governor General of Dazai, on hearing some ill news.
世間は空しきものと知る時しいよよますます悲しかりけり
| yo no naka pa munasiki mono to siru toki si yoyo masumasu kanasikarikeri |
This world of ours Is a fragile thing, indeed – When I realise this Ever ever greater Is my sorrow! |
Ōtomo no Tabito
大伴旅人
A poem composed when the officials of the government headquarters in Dazai had visited the palace at Kashii, and halted their mounts on the shore at Kashii on the way home, in the winter, Eleventh Month, Jinki 5 [729].
いざ子ども香椎の潟に白栲の袖さへ濡れて朝菜摘みてむ
| iza kodomo kasipi no kata ni sirotape no sode sape nurete asana tumitemu |
Hey, fellows all! On the tidelands of Kashii Even white mulberry Sleeves are soaked, so Let’s gather greens for breakfast! |
Ōtomo no Tabito
大伴旅人
So, I composed in reply to her.
言とはぬ木にはありともうるはしき君が手馴れの琴にしあるべし
| koto topanu ki ni pa aritomo urupasiki kimi ga tanare no koto ni siarubesi |
No speech Has a tree, yet A glorious Lord’s favourite Zither will you certainly be! |
The zither maid replied, ‘I thank you for your kind words. I am truly and humbly grateful.’ I swiftly awoke and moved by the words of the maiden in my dream, I could not remain silent, so I entrusted this zither to an official bound your way, that he might deliver it to you.
Sent by messenger on the 7th day of the Tenth Month Tenpyō 1 [645], to his Most Glorious Excellency of the Inner Palace Guards.
Poems respectfully presented by Ōtomo no Tabito, to accompany a Japanese zither made from wood taken from the top of a parasol tree growing on Yuishi in Tsushima:
I dreamed this zither transformed into a maiden who said to me, ‘I placed my roots in the care of the sacrd heights of a distant island; my trunk was dried by the peaceful light of the ninefold sun. Ever was I enveloped by the smoky haze drifting from the mountain streams, and beheld from afar the winds and the waves, finding myself between a tree and a goose. Yet, after a hundred years, I was afraid I would simply be left to rot away in a moat or a ditch somewhere, but by good fortune I met a talented craftsman, who shaped my wood into this meagre zither. My form may be coarse, and my sound grating, but I hope that I may rest, as my Lord’s zither, at his left hand.’ Then, she composed.
いかにあらむ日の時にかも声知らむ人の膝の上我が枕かむ
| ika ni aramu pi no toki ni kamo kowe siramu pito no piza no pe wa ga makurakamu |
When will The day come that I shall sing With his lap For my pillow? |
On coming up from Tsukushi, after finishing his posting as Governor General.
こゝにありてつくしやいづこ白雲のたなびく山のにしにあるらし
| koko ni arite tsukushi ya izuko shira kumo no tanabiku yama no nishi ni arurashi |
Here I am, yet Where might Tsukushi be? Clouds of white Flutter ’cross the mountains In the west-’tis where it lies, I’d say. |
Major Councillor [Ōtomo no] Tabito
大伴旅人