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
たつたがはあきはみづなくあせななむあかぬもみぢのながるればをし[1]
tatsutagawa
aki wa mizu naku
asena namu
akanu momiji no
nagarureba oshi | The river Tatsuta
In autumn, lacks water and
Is shallow, indeed, but though
I never tire of the scarlet leaves
When they flow by, how I do regret it! |
13
いなづまはあるかなきかに見ゆれどもあきのたのみはほにぞいでける
inazuma wa
aru ka naki ka ni
miyuredomo
aki no tanomi wa
ho ni zo idekeru | A flash of lightning:
It may, or may not
Appear, yet
In autumn you can trust that
Ripened ears of rice will. |
14
[1] This poem was included in Gosenshū (VII: 416).
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
水の面にあやをりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべて染むらん
mizu no omo ni
ayaori midaru
harusame ya
yama no midori o
nabete somuran | Upon the water’s surface
A confusing pattern paints
The rain of spring—
Will it now the mountains
All dye with green, I wonder? |
Ōchikōchi no Mitsune
Waterweed 萍
水の上によるべさだめぬうき草のよそへられぬる我が身なりけり
mizu no ue ni
yorube sadamenu
ukikusa no
yosoerarenuru
wa ga mi narikeri | Upon the water,
With no hope of haven,
A waterweed is
How I imagine
Myself to be. |
Nakazane
Temples 寺
谷ふかみ跡だに見えぬ山寺はかけひの水のゆくにてぞ知る
tani fukami
ato dani mienu
yamadera wa
kakehi no mizu no
yuku nite zo shiru | Deep within the valley
No tracks lead to
This mountain temple:
Water through the culverts’
Passing reveals it. |
Akinaka
すべらぎのながゐの池は水すみてのどかにちよのかげぞ見えける
suberagi no
nagai no ike wa
mizu sumite
nodoka ni chiyo no
kage zo miekeru | Our Sovereign’s
Nagai Pond has
Water so clear, that
In peaceful calm a thousand generations
Shape is revealed. |
Higo
Waterfalls 滝
谷川やおちくる滝のしらいとを水のあやには織るにやあるらん
tanikawa ya
ochikuru taki no
shira’ito o
mizu no aya ni wa
oru ni ya aruran | From a stream within the valley
Comes tumbling a cataract of
White threads:
A motley pattern of water
Do they seem to weave? |
Daishin
Composed on the conception of the beginning of winter at the time a hundred poem sequence was presented during the reign of Former Emperor Horikawa.
泉川水の水曲のふしづけに岩間の氷る冬は来にけり
idumigaFa
midu no miwada no
Fusiduke ni
iFama no koForu
Fuyu Fa kinikeri |
On the River Izumi
The water pools
Around the fish-traps,
Frozen between the rocks,
Winter has come, indeed. |
Fujiwara no Nakazane
藤原仲実
五月雨に畔の細道水深み田中の里は人ぞ通はぬ
samidare ni
aze no Fosomiti
midu Fukami
tanaka no sato Fa
Fito zo kayoFanu |
In the drizzle
Above the narrow paths between the paddies
So deep is the water that
The dwelling within the rice fields
Is visited by no one at all… |
Composed at the River Ōi.
水もなくみえこそわたれ大井河岸の紅葉は雨とふれども
midu mo naku
mie koso watare
oFowigaFa
kisi no momidi Fa
ame to Furedomo |
No water
To be seen around at
The River Ōi
Yet on the banks the scarlet leave
Do fall as rain… |
Fujiwara no Sadayori
藤原定頼
'Simply moving and elegant'