Temples 寺
法の声入あひのかねにひびきあひてあはれつきせぬふるき山寺
nori no koe
iriai no kane ni
hibiki aite
aware tsukisenu
furuki yamadera | Voices chanting sutras, and
The sunset bell
Resound together with
Limitless compassion at
An ancient mountain temple. |
Daishin
Temples 寺
木の葉ちり鹿なく秋の山寺はいりあひのかねの音ぞさびしき
ko no ha chiri
shika naku aki no
yamadera wa
iriai no kane no
oto zo sabishiki | Leaves scattering from the trees, and
Stags crying – in autumn
At a mountain temple
The sunset bell’s
Toll is lonely, indeed! |
Higo
Temples 寺
有為の世はけふかあすかのかねの音をあはれいつまできかんとすらん
ui no yo wa
kyō ka asu ka no
kane no oto o
aware itsu made
kikan to suran | In this mundane world
Today and tomorrow, too,
The bell tolls on –
How long will its melancholy
I continue to hear? |
Kanemasa
Temples 寺
やどをいでばたづねてゆかん清水寺なにたがはずは住みやとまると
yado o ideba
tazunete yukan
shimizudera
nani tagawazu wa
sumi ya tomaru to | When I leave my home
Intending to pay a call on
The temple of pure waters,
Would there be no difference between
Living or lodging there? |
Tadafusa
Temples 寺
始なきつみのつもりのかなしさをぬかのこゑごゑくどきつるかな
hajime naki
tsumi no tsumori no
kanashisa o
nuka no koegoe
kudokitsuru kana | Original
Sins’ accumulation
Brings sadness, that
The sound of prostrations
Dispels with good deeds! |
Toshiyori
Temples 寺
つくづくとすぎもゆくかな山寺にいりあひのかねの声ばかりして
tsukuzuku to
sugi mo yuku kana
yamadera ni
iriai no kane no
koe bakari shite | How fervently
They proceed along
To the mountain temple
At the sunset bell’s
First toll! |
Nakazane
Temples 寺
谷ふかみ跡だに見えぬ山寺はかけひの水のゆくにてぞ知る
tani fukami
ato dani mienu
yamadera wa
kakehi no mizu no
yuku nite zo shiru | Deep within the valley
No tracks lead to
This mountain temple:
Water through the culverts’
Passing reveals it. |
Akinaka
A poem composed by Lord Ikeda, mocking Lord Ōmiwa, the Governor of Oki:
寺寺の女餓鬼申さく大神の男餓鬼賜りて其の子生まむ
teradera no
megaki mawosaku
opomiwa no
wogaki tabarite
sono ko umapamu |
All the temples’
Hungry ghost girls call, and
To Ōmiwa
The starving man wed them!
What child would then be born? |
'Simply moving and elegant'