Original
あしひきのやまぢはあきぞまどひけるつもれるもみぢあとしなければ
ashihiki no
yamaji wa aki zo
madoikeru
tsumoreru momiji
ato shinakereba | Leg-wearying
Mountain paths in autumn
Are lost, indeed!
For piled with scarlet leaves
Traces are their none… |
21
Left (Win)
もみぢばをたむけにつめるあきやまにみちみえずともたれかまどはむ
momijiba o
tamuke ni tsumeru
akiyama ni
michi miezu tomo
tareka madowamu | Scarlet leaves are
An offering made
By the autumn mountains, so
Though the path might go unseen,
Who would lose their way? |
22
Right
あしひきのやまのもみぢしあかからばみちふみわけてたづぬばかりぞ
ashihiki no
yama no momiji shi
akakaraba
michi fumiwakete
tazunu bakari zo | The leg-wearying
Mountains’ scarlet leaves
Are so bright, that
Forging through along the paths
To visit is all you need to do! |
23
Sent to a lady with whom he had simply been exchanging letters for some years.
水鳥のはかなきあとに年をへてかよふばかりのえにこそ有りけれ
midutori no
hakanaki ato ni
tosi wo Fete
kayoFu bakari no
e ni koso arikere | Waterbirds leave
But transient traces as
The years go by—
This simple back-and-forth is
All we truly have! |
Anonymous
The Path Across the Shiga Mountains (志賀山越)
まだしらぬ人と友にぞこえにけるしがの山ぢの跡もなけれど
mada shiranu
hito to tomo ni zo
koenikeru
shiga no yamaji no
ato mo nakeredo | With an unknown
Companion, together
Have I crossed
Shiga’s mountain paths
Leaving traces none, and yet… |
Akinaka
Composed at the bridge at Nagara.
橋柱ながらましかば流れての名をこそ聞かめ跡を見ましや
Fasibasira
nagaramasikaba
nagarete no
na wo koso kikame
ato wo mimasi ya |
These bridge pillars
Were there not at Nagara,
Should the current of the world
Bring the name to one’s ears,
Would one even see its traces? |
Former Major Councillor Kintō
前大納言公任
'Simply moving and elegant'
