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
The warm feeling of spring enveloped by smoke (春気籠煙暖)
Left (Win)
梅の花雪にみゆれど春の気はけぶりをこめて寒からなくに
ume no Fana
yuki ni miyuredo
Faru no ki Fa
keburi wo komete
samurakanaku ni | The plum blossom
Seems like snow, yet
The sense of spring
Is surrounded with such smoke
I feel no chill… |
Anonymous
1
Right
咲く花のひかりにもゆる春のきはけぶりをこめて晴れずぞ有りける
saku Fana no
Fikari ni moyuru
Faru no ki Fa
keburi wo komete
Farezu zo arikeru | The blooming blossom
Burning a’glow is
The sense of spring;
Surrounded by smoke that
Never clears… |
Anonymous
2[1]
[1]These poems are included in Fubokushō (I: 92) and (I: 93).
Next Door 隣
かきごしにほのめくだにもあるものをねたくも梅のあるじなるかな
kakigoshi ni
honomeku dani mo
aru mono o
netaku mo ume no
aruji naru kana | Through a gap in the fence
But faint does
It seem to be;
How I envy that plum blossom’s
Master! |
Toshiyori
Topic unknown.
わが園の梅の末枝に鶯の音になきぬべき恋もするかな
wa ga sono no
ume no Fodue ni
uguFisu no
ne ni nakinubeki
koFi mo suru kana | In my garden
From the plum treetops
A warbler
Does cry so –
He must be in love, as I… |
Anonymous
Composed on the scattering of the plum blossoms at his house.
暮ると明くと目かれぬ物を梅花いつの人間にうつろひぬらん
kuru to aku to
me karenu mono wo
ume no Fana
itu no Fitoma ni
uturoFinuran | Neither night nor morn
Do I shift my gaze from
The plum blossoms:
In what moment is it
That they do fade? |
Tsurayuki
Composed on plum blossoms on a spring night.
春の夜の闇はあやなし梅花色こそ見えね香やはかくるる
Faru no yo no
yami Fa ayanasi
ume no Fana
iro koso miene
ka ya Fa kakururu | On nights in springtime
How strange the darkness is!
The plum blossoms’
Hues do go unseen, but
Can their scent still be concealed? |
Mitsune
On a moonlit night, when someone said they were going to pick plum blossoms, he composed this to say, ‘Pluck them.’
月夜にはそれとも見えず梅花香をたづねてぞしるべかりける
tukiyo ni Fa
sore to mo miezu
ume no Fana
ka wo tadunete zo
sirubekarikeru | On a moonlit night
Indistinguishable is
The plum blossom –
By scent, then seek it,
And you shall know it well. |
Mitsune
Composed at Mount Kurau.
梅花にほふ春べはくらふ山やみに越ゆれど著くぞありける
ume no Fana
niFoFu Farube Fa
kuraFu yama
yami ni koyuredo
shiruku zo arikeru | The plum blossom
Scents the spring, and
Though Kurau Mountain
Is draped in darkness,
How clearly I do know it! |
Tsurayuki
鶯の飛火野野辺の雪の内にそれかとばかり匂ふ梅が枝
uguisu no
tobubino nobe no
yuki no uchi ni
sore ka to bakari
niou ume ga e |
The warbler on
The meadows of Tobuhi Plain
Among the snows
Simply wonders if
‘tis the glow of branching plum… |
Gotoba
後鳥羽
A poem by Middle Councillor Abe no Hironiwa.
去年の春いこじて植ゑし我が宿の若木の梅は花咲きにけり
kozo no paru
ikozite uwesi
wa ga yado no
wakaki no ume pa
pana sakinikeri |
In spring last year
I did dig to plant
At my home
A young plum tree whose
Blossom has bloomed! |
Abe no Hironiwa
阿部広庭
'Simply moving and elegant'