Plum from the Estate
あれはてし難波の里の春風に今はたおなじ梅が香ぞする
are hateshi
naniwa no sato no
haru kaze ni
ima wa taonaji
ume ga ka zo suru |
All in ruins lies
The estate at Naniwa:
On the breeze of spring,
Now, just as then:
Comes the scent of plum. |
On plum.
梅が香に夕暮早き麓哉
ume ga ka ni
yūgure hayaki
fumoto kana |
With the drifting scent of plum
Evening comes early
To the foothills. |
On plum.
うめ折て皺手にかこつ薰かな
ume orite
shiwade ni kakotsu
kaori kana |
Plucking plum
I do regret my wrinkled hands,
Filled with fragrance. |
On plum.
梅咲て小さくなりぬ雪丸げ
ume sakite
chiisaku narinu
yuki maroge |
Now the plum’s in bloom
How much smaller are
The snowballs. |
On bush warblers.
うぐひすや梅踏こぼす糊盥
uguisu ya
ume fumikobosu
nori darai |
The warblers have
Scattered plum petals around
The starching tub. |
On winter plum.
香を探る梅に藏見る軒端哉
ka o saguru
ume ni kura miru
nokiba kana |
Seeking out the scent
Of plum, I find them by the storehouse
Underneath the eaves. |
(1687)
On plum blossom.
人も見ぬ春や鏡のうらの梅
hito mo minu
haru ya kagami no
ura no mume |
No one sees
This spring–on the mirror’s
Underside blooms plum. |
(1692)
On plum.
梅白し昨日や鶴をぬすまれし
mume shiroshi
kinô ya tsuru wo
nusumareshi |
The plum blossom’s so white–
Was it yesterday the cranes
Were stolen? |
(1685)
On plum.
梅柳さぞ若衆哉女かな
mume yanagi
sa zo waka shu kana
onna kana |
Plum blossom and a willow tree:
The former as a handsome youth, the latter
As a woman. |
(1682)
As a spring poem:
むめがえになきてうつろふうぐひすのはねしろたへにあはゆきぞふる
mume ga e ni
nakite utsurou
uguisu no
hane shirotae ni
awayuki zo furu |
Upon the plum-tree’s branch
He sings – flapping
The warbler’s
Wings are white as mulberry cloth amidst
The falling snow-spume. |
Anonymous
'Simply moving and elegant'