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'