Major Captain of the Left Asamitsu had not visited her for a long time, when he came to see her on her travels; having no pillow, they wove one out of grass.
あふことはこれやかぎりの旅ならん草のまくらも霜がれにけり
| au koto wa kore ya kagiri no tabi naran kusa no makura mo shimogarenikeri | Will our meeting Here be the limit of Our journey? Even our grassy pillow Seared by distant frosts… |
The Uma Handmaid
On seeing fisherfolk burning salt when he was on the road to Kumano, and felt particularly unwell.
旅の空夜半のけぶりとのぼりなばあまのもしほ火たくかとやみん
| tabi no sora yowa no keburi to noborinaba ama no mosiobi taku ka to ya min | Should into my travel’s skies One night as smoke I rise, The fisherfolk seaweed salt fires Kindling—would it appear so, I wonder? |
Former Emperor Kazan
Sent to a lady he had been seeing secretly on the morning after he had returned home, after they had met at a temporary lodging.
かぎりなくむすびおきつる草枕いつこのたびをおもひわすれん
| kagirinaku musubi’okitsuru kusamakura itsu kono tabi o omoiwasuren | Beyond all limits were The ties laid down between Our grassy pillows, so When this journey Might we ever be able to forget? |
Kentoku-kō
For a folding screen depicting a large number of travellers lying beneath blossom.
木のもとにやどりはすべし桜花ちらまくをしみ旅ならなくに
| ko no moto ni yadori wa subeshi sakurabana chiramaku oshimi tabi naranaku ni | Beneath this tree Let me lodge a while, for The cherry blossoms’ Scattering I do regret, so I’ve no cause to journey on my way… |
Left (Tie)
ふるさとにかすみとびわけゆくかりはたびのそらにやはるをすぐらむ
| furusato ni kasumi tobiwake yuku kari wa tabi no sora ni ya haru o suguramu | Above an ancient estate Flying through the parting haze Go the geese: In the skies they journey through, I wonder, will they pass the springtime? |
Mitsune
19
Right
ちるはなをぬきしとめねばあをやぎのいとはよるともかひやなからむ
| chiru hana o nukishi tomeneba aoyagi no ito wa yoru tomo kai ya nakaramu | The scattered blossom Has been pierced, but not stayed, so, The green willow’s Threaded fronds are spun together, yet It useless seems… |
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‘“Sewn but not halted”—it really does seem so.’
On ‘Love and Travel’ at the Sumiyoshi Shrine Poetry Contest in Jōgen 2 [1209].
いかにせんせめては旅の空だのめむなしくまたん夕暮もがな
| ika ni sen semete wa tabi no soradanome munashiku matan yūgure mogana | O, what am I to do? At least, it’s due to travel’s Unreliable skies that Emptily I would wait This evening—if only that were so! |
Iehira, Junior Third Rank
従三位家衡
Geese
Left (Win)
わがせこがたびのころもをうちはへてまつかりがねのいまもなかなむ
| wa ga seko ga tabi no koromo o uchihaete matsu kari ga ne no ima mo nakanamu | My darling man’s Journey garb I will spread out, for The long-awaited goose cries Are now sounding out. |
Korenari
9
Right
わぎもこがかけてまつらんたまづさとかきつらねたるはつかりのこゑ
| wagimoko ga kakete matsuran tamazusa to kakitsuranetaru hatsu kari no koe | My darling girl Does ever seem to wait! Jewelled missives Written with The first goose calls… |
10
Left
明けぬ間に箱根の山の時鳥二声とだに鳴き渡るらむ
| akenu ma ni Fakone no yama no Fototogisu Futakowe to dani nakiwataruramu |
Before the dawn no Hakone Mountain Cuckoos’ Twin calls simply Seem to sing back and forth |
17
Right (Win)
深山出でていづこも旅ぞ時鳥ここにを結べ草の枕は
| miyama idete iduko mo tabi zo Fototogisu koko ni wo musube kusa no makura wa |
Emerging from the mountains’ depths Where does your journey take you, O, cuckoo? Here will I twine strands Of grass for my pillow… |
18