Here’s an interview with me where I talk about waka poetry – how it was used, developed and so on.
住吉の松はあはれもかけやせむ八十過ぬる和歌の浦波
sumiyoshi no
matsu wa aware mo
kake ya semu
yasoji suginuru
waka no uranami | At Sumiyoshi will
The pines feel compassion
For me?
Spending more than eighty years
Washed by the waves of Waka Bay… |
Judge
1201
和歌の浦のしるべとなれる老の浪げに住吉の松も知るらん
waka no ura no
shirube to nareru
oi no nami
geni sumiyoshi no
matsu mo shiruran | To Waka Bay
A guide have you become,
Washed by waves of age;
Truly, at Sumiyoshi
The pines will know that well! |
A Servant Girl
1202
和歌の浦に鳴きてふりにし霜の鶴このころ見えぬ心やすめて
waka no ura ni
nakite furinishi
shimo no tsuru
kono koro mienu
kokoro yasumete |
In Waka Bay
Crying, aged
Frost-covered cranes:
I have not lately felt
Such peace in my heart. |
Teika
和歌の浦や入り江の葦の霜の鶴かかる光にあはむとや見し
waka no ura ya
irie no ashi no
shimo no tsuru
kakaru hikari ni
awamu to ya mishi |
O Waka Bay!
In the reeds upon your shore
Did frost-covered cranes
With the light
I once see become one? |
Ietaka
靡かずは又やは神に手向くべき思へば悲し和歌の浦浪
nabikazu wa
mata ya wa kami ni
tamukubeki
omoeba kanashi
waka no uranami |
If he is heedless
Should I yet to the god
Make offerings?
When I think on it, how sad are
The waves in Waka Bay – the path of poetry |
'Simply moving and elegant'