あづまぢの道のおくなるしら川のせきあへぬ袖をもる涙かな
| azumaji no michi no okunaru shirakawa no seki aenu sode o moru namida kana | On Eastern roads, On ways into the heartlands lies Shirakawa’s Barrier—unable to match it my sleeves Are soaked with tears! |
472


When he was passing the barrier at Shirakawa on the way to Michinoku.
たよりあらばいかでみやこへつげやらむけふしらかはの関はこえぬと
| tayori araba ikade miyako Fe tuge yaramu keFu sirakaFa no seki Fa koenu to | Had I but a messenger Somehow, to the capital I would send word— That today the Shirakawa Barrier I have passed through… |
Taira no Kanemori

Composed at the Shirakawa Barrier, when he had gone to Michinoku.
宮こをばかすみとともにたちしかどあきかぜぞ吹くしらかはのせき
| miyako woba kasumi to tomo ni tatisikado akikaze zo Fuku sirakaFa no seki | From the capital Together with the haze Did I depart, yet The autumn wind, indeed, is blowing At the Barrier of Shirakawa! |
Monk Nōin

Composed in the Tenth Month of Jōhō 3 [1076] when the reigning emperor had made a progress to the River Ōi to go hunting.
大井川ふるきながれを尋ねきて嵐のやまの紅葉をぞ見る
| oFowigaFa Furuki nagare wo tadunekite arasi no yama no momidi wo zo miru |
The River Ōi: This ancient flow Have I come to visit, and Around the mount of storms, Scarlet leaves I see! |
Emperor Shirakawa
白河院
Composed because Middle Captain Michinobu had slept with Seki at the Shirakawa estate:
いかでかは人のかよはむかくばかり水もゝらさぬ白河の關
| ika de ka Fa Fito no kayoFamu kaku bakari midu mo morasanu sirakaFa no seki |
How is it that A man gains entry, I wonder? When not even Water leaks through The barrier of Shirakawa. |
Composed when the Major Captain, perhaps bearing some ill will against me for something and not seeing me for a while, sent to me saying, ‘Why not come over to the Shirakawa estate?’
白川にさそふ水だになかりせば心もゆかずおもはましやは
| sirakawa ni sasoFu midu dani nakariseba kokoro mo yukazu omoFamasi ya Fa |
Had to Shirakawa Inviting waters Not come, Suffering Would have remained rooted in my heart. |
Composed when feeling that it was the end of the Fourth Month.
うの花のむらむらさけるかきねをば雲まの月のかげかとぞみる
| u no hana no muramura sakeru kakine o ba kumo ma no tsuki no kage ka to zo miru |
The deutzia Blooming in profusion Along the brushwood fence Through the cloud-breaks moon Light do appear to be. |
Emperor Shirakawa (1053-1129) (r. 1072-1086)