Azaleas
Left
かりがねにおもひかけつつしのばな んあまつそらなるわが身なりとも
kari ga ne ni omoikaketsutsu shinobana n ama tsu sora naru wa ga mi naritomo Upon the goose cries Ever hang your thoughts, and Remember, that Within the sky-spanning heavens I may yet be…
Sadafun 15
Right
うぐひすのこゑなつかしくなきつるはのちもこひつつしのばな むとか
uguisu no koe natsukashiku nakitsuru wa nochi mo koitsutsu shinobana mu to ka Does the warbler’s Song so charmingly Ring out that Later, ever fondly Will he be remembered?
16
A place where a flute is playing.
ふえのねはすみぬなれどもふくかぜになべてもかすむはるの空かな
fue no ne wa suminu naredomo fuku kaze ni nabete mo kasumu haru no sora kana The flute’s notes Have ended, yet Blown by the wind Together they haze The springtime sky.
Fujiwara no Takatō (949-1013) 藤原高遠
Composed on morning haze for the Poetry Contest at the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent.
春の夜のおぼろ月夜やこれならむかすみにくもるありあけのそら
haru no yo no oborozukiyo ya kore naramu kasumi ni kumoru ariake no sora Is a spring night’s Misty moon This I see? Haze is clouding The dawning sky.
Tango, in service to Empress Gishūmon’in
A spring poem, from when he composed a fifty-poem sequence at the residence of Cloistered Prince Shukaku.
山のはもそらもひとつに見ゆるかなこれやかすめるはるのあけぼの
yama no ha mo sora mo hitotsu ni miyuru kana kore ya kasumeru haru no akebono The mountains’ edge and The sky, too, as one Do seem! This is the hazy Dawn in springtime!
Minamoto no Moromitsu 源師光
Sent to Mitsune’s house, the morning after Tanabata .
あさとあけてながめやすらん織女のあかぬ別のそらをこひつつ
asa to akete nagame ya suran tanabata no akanu wakare no sora wo koFitutu With the morning comes the dawn, and Should I gaze upon, I wonder The Weaver Maid’s Unfulfilled parting Sky ever with such fond feelings?
Tsurayuki
Left
ひぐらしに秋の野山をわけくれば心にもあらぬ錦をぞきる
higurashi ni aki no noyama o wakekureba kokoro ni mo aranu nishiki o zo kiru When at sundown Through the autumn mountain meadows I come forging, Lying not within my heart, Brocade I am, indeed, cutting!
84
Right
秋といへばあま雲までにもえにしを空さへしるくなどか見ゆらん
aki to ieba amagumo made ni moenishi o sora sae shiruku nado ka miyuran ‘Autumn’ is when Even as far as heaven’s clouds Have burned, but Why does the sky Seem so clear?
85
Left
おしなべて五月のそらを見渡せば草葉も水もみどりなりけり
oshinabete satsuki no sora o miwataseba kusaba mo mizu mo midori narikeri When the entire Fifth Month sky I gaze across, Blades of grass and water, too, Are green.
72[1]
Right
くるるかとみれば明けぬる夏の夜をあかずとや鳴く山郭公
kururu ka to mireba akenuru natsu no yo o akazu to ya naku yamahototogisu Did you think ’twas sunset? When a glance would show the breaking dawn Of this summer night- Unsated by your song, do you sing on, Cuckoo in the mountains?
73[2]
[1] Shinchokusenshū III: 152/Kokin rokujō I: 89
[1] Kokinshū III: 157, attributed to Mibu no Tadamine/Shinsen man’yōshū 57/Kokin rokujō VI: 4437
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
おしなべて五月のそらを見渡せば草葉も水もみどりなりけり
oshinabete satsuki no sora o miwataseba kusaba mo mizu mo midori narikeri When the entire Fifth Month sky I gaze across, Blades of grass and water, too, Are green.
Anonymous
忍ぶれど物思ふ人はうき雲の空に恋する名をのみぞたつ
shinoburedo mono’omou hito wa ukigumo no sora ni koisuru na o nomi zo tatsu I kept it secret, yet She, who is the focus of my thoughts, is As a drifting cloud Within the sky, and of my love Rumours, alone, do rise toward her.
Middle Captain Morotoki, Fourth Rank 19
恋すともいかでか空に名はたたじ忍ぶる程は袖につつまで
koisu to mo ikade ka sora ni na wa tataji shinoburu hodo wa sode ni tsutsumade You love, so How is it that the skies Could remain untouched by rumours? Your secret You’ve not kept wrapped within your sleeves…
Lady Aki, in service to the Empress Dowager 20
Left
あすは又けふをばこぞといひすててをしみしものとおもひだにせじ
asu wa mata kyō o ba kozo to iisutete oshimishi mono to omoi dani seji Tomorrow, once again Will be as today I’ll say easily and All those things that I regretted- I’ll not even think of them!
Lord Sueyoshi 2080
Right
ふゆのそらわびつつけふになりにけりあとなきにはのゆきとみながら
fuyu no sora wabitsutsu kyō ni narinikeri ato naki niwa no yuki to minagara The winter sky is Ever a source of grief-today Has just turned out that way, While my gardens trackless Snow fills my gaze.
Ienaga 2081
Judgement: I wonder how the central ‘I’ll say easily’ leads in to the concluding section. The Right’s poem is a little better, I’d say.
Posts navigation
'Simply moving and elegant'