Evergreens
ちりかはる心なけれどみやまぎのときはは秋もしられざりけり
chirikawaru kokoro nakeredo miyamagi no tokiwa wa aki mo shirarezarikeri A flighty Heart, has it not, yet Deep within the mountains, that the trees Are evergreen, even the autumn Seems not to know…
19
Gentian
した草の花をみつればむらさきに秋さへふかくなりにけるかな
shitagusa no hana o mitsureba murasaki ni aki sae fukaku narinikeru kana When in the undergrowth Flowers I do see, their Violet in Autum much deeper Has become!
20
Left (Tie)
ひさにこぬ人をまつにやあひぬらむときはのこひとわがなりぬるは
hisa ni konu hito o matsu ni ya ainuramu tokiwa no koi to wa ga narinuru wa He never comes, that Man I’m waiting for—will I ever meet him? Though into everlasting love Have I completely fallen…
Mitsune 23
Right
おもひつつまだいひそめぬわがこひをおなじこころに人はしらなむ
omoitsutsu mada iisomenu wa ga koi o onaji kokoro ni hito wa shiranamu Ever are you in my passionate thoughts, Though we have yet to speak I would my love You would feel within your heart as I— That’s what I would have you know!
Mitsune 24
Left
をみなへしうつろふあきのほどをなみねさへうつしてをしむけふかな
ominaeshi utsurou aki no hodo o nami ne sae utsushite oshimu kyō kana The maidenflower With the autumn will fade Soon away; Being shifted here root and all She must regret, today!
19[1]
Right
うつらずはふゆともわかじをみなへしときはのえだにさきかへらなむ
utsurazu wa fuyu to mo wakaji ominaeshi tokiwa no eda ni sakikaeranamu Ever unfading and All unknowing of the winter, O, maidenflower, On evergreen branches I would you returned to bloom!
20
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 514
Winter
Left
冬くれば紅葉ふりしく神無月佐保の山辺はむべもりぬらん
fuyu kureba momiji furishiku kaminazuki saho no yamabe wa mube morinuran When the winter comes, Scarlet leaves, falling and scattering In the Godless Month, Upon the slopes of Mount Saho, Indeed, are at their finest.
19
冬ごもりかれてみゆらん梅がえは今はた花の春はにほはん
fuyugomori karete miyuran ume ga e wa ima hata hana no haru wa niowan Sealed in winter, and All withered seeming, The plum tree’s branches, Now, for sure, the blossoms’ Spring will scent.
20
冬みれば水もまかせぬ小山田にいつすき返し種をまきけん
fuyu mireba mizu mo makasenu oyamada ni itsu sukikaeshi tane o makiken ‘Tis winter, I see, so There’s no water to draw for The little mountain paddies: O, when might I till them, and Sow my seeds, I wonder?
21
Right
時雨降る宿にすまへば冬の夜に錦とみゆる木木の花かな
shigure furu yado ni sumaeba fuyu no yo ni nishiki to miyuru kigi no hana kana Showers fall Upon the house where I do dwell, so Upon a winter’s night As brocade do seem The blossoming trees!
22
ゆふだすき神の社にかけつればしもし降るにもたのもしきかな
yūdasuki kami no yashiro ni kaketsureba shimo shi furu ni mo tanomashiki kana Sacred mulberry cords Around the God’s shrine Are hung, so Even amidst the frost fall, The future does seem bright!
23
白雲のふたへふりしくときは山うらはへとしはみどりなりけれ
shiragumo no futae furishiku tokiwa yama ura hae toshi wa midori narikere Clouds of white Lie scattered, twofold, upon The unchanging mountain: Stretching out behind, the year Is simply green.
24
On the cold wind.
木がらしのおとはすぎにし時なれどときはにつねに松にふく風
kogarashi no oto wa suginishi toki naredo tokiwa ni tsune ni matsu ni fuku kaze The biting wind’s Howl has passed And yet, The evergreens always Pine for the gusting breeze.
Anonymous
Brushwood
冬寒み霜はおけども椎しばのときはの色はあせずもあるかな
fuyu samumi shimo wa okedomo shiishiba no tokiwa no iro wa asezu mo aru kana In winter’s chill The frost falls, yet The brushwood’s Evergreen hues Fade not at all…
Higo, from the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent 京極関白家肥後
そめねども身に染む色はかはりけり常盤の森の秋風の声
somenedomo
mi ni shimu iro wa
kawarikeri
tokiwa no mori no
akikaze no koe
Although it marks me not
The hue deep within me
Does change
As in the forest of Tokiwa
Whispers the autumn wind.
Shunzei’s Daughter
俊成女
Kenpō meisho hyakushu
建保名所百首
Composed on a spring by a pine tree in the Sixth Month, for a folding screen for the Daijō Festivities in the Ninth Year of Kenkyū (1199).
ときはなる松井の水をむすぶてのしづくごとにぞちよはみえける
tokiwa naru
matsui no mizu o
musubu te no
shizuku goto ni zo
chi yo wa miekeru
In Tokiwa
The waters from the pine-tree spring are
Held in gathered hands-
Every single drop that falls
Shows the passage of a thousand years.
Provisional Middle Councillor [Fujiwara no] Sukezane
Topic unknown.
思ひいづるときはの山のいはつつじいはねばこそあれこひしき物を
omoFiiduru
tokiFa no yama no
iFa tutuzi
iFaneba koso are
koFisiki mono wo
I do recall
Tokiwa Mountain, with
Azaleas upon the crags?
I say not a word to her at all
Yet, indeed, I love her so.
Anonymous
Topic unknown.
思ひいづるときはの山の郭公唐紅のふりいでてぞなく
omoFiiduru
tokiFa no yama no
Fototogisu
karakurenawi no
Furiidete zo naku
Deep in my memories:
In the Tokiwa mountains
A cuckoo
With crimson tongue
Bursts into song.
Anonymous
'Simply moving and elegant'