Left 梅のはなしるきかならでうつろはば雪降りやまぬ春とこそ見め
| ume no hana shiru ki ka narade utsurowaba yuki furiyamanu haru to koso mime | Of the plum blossom Is this tree not aware, so If it fades An endless snowfall Will seem to mark this spring. |
5
Right
春の日に霞わけつつとぶ雁の見えみみえずみ雲がくれ行く
| haru no hi ni kasumi waketsutsu tobu kari no mie mi miezu mi kumogakureyuku | The springtime sun Keeps breaking through the haze, so The geese, winging, Appear and are lost to view Vanishing within the clouds. |
6
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).
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