Upon hearing this, as the snow falls:
かへるさの道ゆくべくもおもほえずこほりて雪の降りしまされば
kaFeru sa no
miti yukubeku mo
omoFoezu
koForite yuki no
Furisi masareba |
Upon my homeward
Path of setting foot
I cannot think:
For ’tis frozen and snow
Has fallen fine atop it. |
In reply:
朝戸あけて春の木末の雪みれば初花ともやいふべかるらん
asato akete
Faru no kozuwe no
yuki mireba
FatuFana tomo ya
iFubekaruran |
On opening my morning door, and
In springtime on the treetops
Snow seeing,
‘First flowers’, perhaps
I should call it… |
Master of the Crown Prince’s Household Office [Fujiwara no] Kinzane (1053-1107)
Sent around the First Day of the First Month, when snow was falling:
あらたまの年のはじめに降りしけば初雪とこそいふべからりけれ
aratama no
tosi no Fadime ni
Furisikeba
Fatuyuki to koso
iFubekarikere | When at the jewel-bright, new
Year’s beginning
It falls so heavily,
‘First snow’,
I should call it. |
Master of the Office of Palace Repairs [Fujiwara no] Akisue (1055-1123)
His reply:
ふる雪にまことにしのやいかならんけふはみやこにあとだにもなし
furu yuki ni
makoto ni shinoya
ikanaran
kyo wa miyako ni
ato dani mo nashi |
In the falling snows,
Truly, of your bamboo-thatched hut
What is to become, I wonder.
On this day in the capital
Not even footprints do remain… |
[Fujiwara no] Mototoshi
Sent to Mototoshi on a snowy morning.
つねよりもしのやのゝきぞうづもるゝけふは宮こにはつ雪やふる
tsune yori mo
shinoya no noki zo
uzumoruru
kyo wa miyako ni
hatsuyuki ya furu |
It’s extraordinary?
The eaves of my bamboo-thatched hut
Are buried;
On this day in the capital,
Are the first snows falling? |
The Sage Sensai
窓の雪つんでこそこそばくち哉
mado no yuki
tsunde koso koso
bakuchi kana |
Beyond my window
Snow piles everywhere
And the world is white. |
衽形に吹込む雪や枕元
okuminari
fukikomu yuki ya
makuramoto |
All around, a coat is
Blown in: snow
Beneath my pillow |
雪ちらりちらり見事な月夜哉
yuki chirari
chirari migoto na
tsukuyo kana |
The snowfall sparkles
Beautifully before
The moon’s light tonight. |
うら壁やしがみ付たる貧乏雪
urakabe ya
shigami tsuitaru
binbō yuki |
This rude wall
Has clinging to it
Penurious snow! |
初雪や故郷見ゆる壁の穴
hatsuyuki ya
furusato miyuru
kabe no ana |
The first snow falls and
Through it I see my old home village:
Holes gaping in the walls. |
'Simply moving and elegant'