When he was thinking of days long gone, after he had grown old.
あけくれは昔をのみぞしのぶ草葉末の露に袖ぬらしつつ
| akekure wa mukashi o nomi zo shinobugusa hazue no tsuyu ni sode nurashitsutsu | Day and night Times long gone simply Remembrance fern Frond tips’ dewdrops Ever drench my sleeves. |
Hōribe no Narinaka
On the conception of fulling cloth.
ちたびうつきぬたの音にゆめさめて物おもふ袖に露ぞくだくる
| chitabi utsu kinuta no oto ni yume samete mono’omou sode ni tsuyu zo kudakuru | A thousand times striking The fulling block—the sound Wakes me from my dreams In gloomy thought, while upon my sleeves Dewdrops are scattered, indeed! |
Princess Shokushi
Topic unknown.
花すすき草のたもとをかりぞなくなみだの露やおき所なき
| hanasusuki kusa no tamoto o kari zo naku namida no tsuyu ya okidokoro naki | The flowering miscanthus Grass cuffs Reaped and wept Tears of dew Have no place to fall.[i] |
Consultant Masatsune
[i] An allusive variation on KKS IV: 243.
Topic unknown.
おく露もしづ心なき秋かぜにみだれてさけるまののはぎ原
| oku tsuyu mo shizukokoronaki akikaze ni midarete sakeru mano no hagiwara | The falling dew, too, Is unsettled by The autumn wind’s Confusion of the blooming Bush clover groves in Mano. |
Kii, from the Residence of Imperial Princess Sukeko
When, due to a confidential matter, he became unable to meet with a woman he had finally become able to see, he sent this.
あふさかの木のした露にぬれしよりわが衣手はいつもかわかず
| aFusaka no ko no sitaduyu ni nuresi yori wa ga koromode Fa itumo kawakazu | Meeting Hill’s Trees drip dewdrops and Have soaked me, so My sleeves Never will be dry. |
Lord Kanesuke
Cherry blossom in the rain.
けふも又花にくらしつ春雨の露のやどりを我にかさなん
| kyō mo mata hana ni kurashitsu harusame no tsuyu no yadori o ware ni kasanan | Today once more I have dwelt beneath the blossom, so From spring showers Dewfall a shelter Won’t you lend me? |
On lightning.
いなづまのしばしもとめぬひかりにも草葉のつゆのかずはみえけり
| inazuma no shibashi mo tomenu hikari ni mo kusaba no tsuyu no kazu wa miekeri | The lightning Fails to linger for even a moment, yet In its flash of light Upon every blade of grass Appear numerous dewdrops. |
Lord Fujiwara no Tamehide
Composed on plum blossom.
梅がえにこほれる霜やとけぬらんほしあへぬ露の花にこぼるる
| ume ga e ni kōreru shimo ya tokenuran hoshiaenu tsuyu no hana ni koboreru | Upon the plum tree’s branches The frozen frost Is melting, it seems— Never-drying dewdrops Overflow the blossom. |
A warbler after the rain.
春雨の露もまだひず梅がえにうは毛しをれて鶯ぞなく
| harusame no tsuyu mo mada hizu mume ga e ni uwage shiorete uguisu zo naku | The spring shower’s Dewfall’s not yet dried, but Upon the plum branch, Plumage drenched, Sings out the warbler! |
