Monkeys 猿
三度てふ声だにきけばよそ人に物おもひまさるねをぞ嗚くなる
mitabi chō
koe dani kikeba
yosobito ni
mono’omoi masaru
ne o zo nakunaru | When three times
That call I hear,
A stranger in
Deepest depression is
Crying out! |
Tadafusa
Spiders 蜘蛛
我がことにたちぎく人もあらませばかくとはましやささがにのいと
wa ga koto ni
tachigiku hito mo
aramaseba
kaku towamashi ya
sasagani no ito | About me,
Eavesdropping—for such a one
I long, so
Should I enquire, I wonder,
Of the spider’s thread? |
Tadafusa
Zithers 筝
玉の緒はたえしもせぬをひく人もなきことをのみもたるみぞうき
tama no o wa
tae shimo senu o
hiku hito mo
naki koto o nomi
motaru mi zo uki | My jewelled thread of life,
Stretches on, unending, with
No one to pluck it,
Simply, a having a zither
Makes me desolate, indeed! |
Tadafusa
Flutes 笛
ことわりや宿につくりし竹なれば笛のねにてもそめるなりけり
kotowari ya
yado ni tsukurishi
take nareba
fue no ne nite mo
someru narikeri | How natural it is—that
My house was built
Of bamboo, so
The strains of a flute
Have dyed it! |
Tadafusa
Next Door 隣
たらちねのさらにとなりをかへけるも子をおもふゆゑと聞くぞかなしき
tarachine no
sara ni tonari o
kaekeru mo
ko o omou yue to
kiku zo kanashiki | Motherly,
Once again next door
Has she returned—
Out of longing for her child,
I hear—how sad that is… |
Tadafusa
Boats 船
水あさみ川せの波はたつものをくだすう舟のみつや何なる
mizu asami
kawase no nami wa
tatsu mono o
kudasu ubune no
mitsu ya ika naru | How shallow the waters in
The river rapids where waves
Arise –
What will become of the cormorant boats, sailing down
If they be full? |
Tadafusa
Seafolk 泉郎
ふかながら海のこころやいかならんうらみぬあまはなしとこそきけ
fukanagara
umi no kokoro ya
ika naran
uraminu ama wa
nashi to koso kike | It may have depths, but
The heart of the sea is
What sort of thing, I wonder?
An unresentful fisherman
Is nowhere to be found, I hear! |
Tadafusa
Old Folk 老人
あさなあさなみれどむかしのかげならで日にそへおいのますかがみかな
asana asana
miredo mukashi no
kage narade
hi ni soe oi no
masukagami kana | Each morn
I look, yet yesterday’s
Face fails to appear, and
With each passing day, old age
Is clear within my mirror! |
Tadafusa
Singing Girls 妓女
をとめ子がいかにをかしきすがたにてみるたびごとにうちゑまるらん
otomego ga
ika ni okashiki
sugata nite
miru tabi goto ni
uchiemaruran | The maidens –
How charming are
Their forms, that
Every time I see them
I do seem to smile. |
Tadafusa
Wang Zhaojun 王昭君
たれもさはゑをまこととや思ひけんうきにまぎれぬはづかしきかな
tare mo sa wa
e o makoto to ya
omoiken
uki ni magirenu
hazukashiki kana | Who is it feels
My portrait to be true
She wonders;
Her obvious distress
A source of shame! |
Tadafusa
'Simply moving and elegant'