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. |
Left
冬の池のうへはこほりてとぢたるをいかでか月のそこにすむらん
fuyu no ike no
ue wa kōrite
tojitaru o
ikade ka tsuki no
soko ni sumuramu | A winter pond is
Frozen above and
Completely sealed, so
Why is it that the moon
Seems so clear upon its bed? |
Tomonori
137
Right
ふゆさむみみのもにかくるますかがみとくも我なむ老いまどふべく
fuyu samumi
mi no mo ni kakuru
masukagami
toku mo warenamu
oimadoubeku | In winter’s chill
Upon the water’s surface rests
A clear glass, but
Long since did I break it—
Surely confused in my old age! |
138
Left
ほりておきし池は鏡とこほれども影にもみえぬ年ぞ経にける
horiteokishi
ike wa kagami to
kōredomo
kage ni mo mienu
toshi zo henikeru | All dug out
The pond into a mirror
Has frozen, yet
Reflected, I cannot see
The year gone by! |
127
Right
降る雪のつもれる峰は白雲のたちもさわがずをるかとぞみる
furu yuki no
tsumoreru mine wa
shirayuki no
tachi mo sawagazu
oru ka to zo miru | The falling snow
Has drifted upon the peaks
Whiteness
Arrives without a rustle
Making me wonder if it’s there at all… |
128
On a thin layer of ice remaining atop a pond, for a Poetry Contest held at the Residence of Imperial Princess Miwako.
うす氷残りすくなくなりにけり池のかがみと冬はみしかど
usugōri
nokori sukunaku
narinikeri
ike no kagami to
fuyu wa mishikado | The film of ice
Mere remnants
Has become;
Yet in the mirror of the pond
Winter was once seen… |
Musashino
Topic unknown
冬の池の鴨のうはげにおくしものきえて物思ふころにもあるかな
Fuyu no ike no
kamo no uFage ni
oku simo no
kiete mono’omoFu
koro ni mo aru kana | At a pond in winter
Upon the ducks’ down
Falls frost; it
Vanishes and gloom
Takes all my time! |
Anonymous
Waterweed 萍
池のおもにうゑぬにおふるうき草はなみやよるよる種をまきけん
ike no omo ni
uenu ni ouru
ukikusa wa
nami ya yoruyoru
tane o makiken | Upon the surface of the pond,
Not planted but growing are
The waterweeds –
Do the waves, washing back and forth
Sow their seeds, perhaps? |
Tadafusa
Ponds 池
酌みてしる人もあらじなおもふこといはれの池のいひし出でねば
kumite shiru
hito mo araji na
omou koto
iware no ike no
iishi ideneba | Understanding by cupping water –
There is no one who might do that!
For to feelings
Has Iware Pond
Never given voice… |
Daishin
すべらぎのながゐの池は水すみてのどかにちよのかげぞ見えける
suberagi no
nagai no ike wa
mizu sumite
nodoka ni chiyo no
kage zo miekeru | Our Sovereign’s
Nagai Pond has
Water so clear, that
In peaceful calm a thousand generations
Shape is revealed. |
Higo
Ponds 池
世にわびて波たちまちにすぐなれどあその御池にぬさたてまつる
yo ni wabite
nami tachimachi ni
sugu naredo
aso no mi’ike ni
nusa tatematsuru | All the world’s troubles
In sudden waves
Arise, yet
At the fair pond of Aso
Will I make an offering… |
Toshiyori
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
'Simply moving and elegant'
