Icicles
山ざとは谷の下水つららゐていはうつ浪の音だにもせず
yamazato wa tani no shitamizu tsurara ite iwa utsu nami no oto dani mo sezu | At a mountain retreat The waters in the valley below Have turned to icicles, and Of waves striking the rocks There is no sound, at all. |
Morotoki
Spring
Left
春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ
haru no tatsu kasumi no koromo ura mo naku toshi o hete koso hana no chirikere | Spring does sew A robe of haze Without an underlay, The year passes by in A scattering of blossom |
1
春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる
haru no no no yuki ma o wakete itsushika to kimi ga tame to zo wakana tsumitsuru | Across the springtime meadows Do I forge between the snows, Eagerly, so eagerly, For you, my Lord, Have I gathered fresh herbs! |
2
春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを
harugasumi kasumi kometaru yamazato wa kōri toku tomo kage wa mieji o | The haze of spring Blurs all around A mountain retreat, Even were the ice to melt I could see no sign of it! |
3
Right
梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する
ume ga e ni ki’iru uguisu toshigoto ni hana no nioi o akanu koesuru | Upon the plum tree’s branches Has come to rest the warbler; Every single year, that Of the blossoms’ scent He cannot get his fill he sings. |
4
桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで
sakurairo ni hana saku ame wa furinu tomo chishio zo somete utsurou na sode | Cherry-coloured Blossoms flower, as the rain Falls on, yet Dyed a thousand times Fade not, o, my sleeves! |
5
青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ
aoyagi no ito harubaru to midori naru yukusue made mo omoi koso yare | The willow’s Branches dangle lengthily So green Right to the very end Will I fondly think of you. |
6
Composed on the conception of the autumn wind at a mountain retreat.
山ざとのしづの松がきひまをあらみいたくなふきそこがらしのかぜ
yamazato no sidu no matugaki Fima wo arami itaku na Fuki so kogarasi no kaze | Around this mountain dwelling The peasant’s pinewood fence Has gap aplenty; Blow not so hard, O, biting wind! |
Ōmiya Echizen
大宮越前
Composed when he presented a hundred poem sequence, during the reign of former Emperor Horikawa.
山ざとはさびしかりけりこがらしのふく夕ぐれのひぐらしのこゑ
yamazato Fa sabisikarikeri kogarasi no Fuku yuFugure no higurasi no kowe | A mountain retreat is Lonely, indeed; The biting wind Blows of an evening with The sundown cicadas’ cries. |
Fujiwara no Nakazane
藤原仲実
山ざとは秋こそものはかなしけれねざめねざめにしかはなきつつ
yamazato wa aki koso mono wa kanashikere nezame nezame ni shika wa nakitsutsu | A mountain retreat in Autumn is much more Sad; Waking, ever waking To the stags constant cries… |
29
ことのねをかぜのしらべにまかせてはたつたひめこそあきはひくらし
koto no ne o kaze no shirabe ni makasete wa tatsustahime koso aki wa hikurashi | A zither’s strains By the wind tuned Up— Princess Tatsuta Is plucking out the notes of autumn, it seems. |
30
あさぎりにかたまどはしてなくかりのこゑぞたえせぬ秋の山べは
asagiri ni kata madowashite naku kari no koe zo taesenu aki no yamabe wa | In the morning mists Having lost their way, Crying, the geese Call out ceaselessly From the autumn mountain meadows. |
27
山ざとはあきこそことにかなしけれしかのなくねにめをさましつつ[1]
yamazato wa aki koso koto ni kanashikere shika no naku ne ni me o samashitsutsu | In a mountain retreat The autumn, especially, Is lonely. The belling of the stags Continually awakens me. |
28
[1] This poem also occurs in Kokinshū (IV: 214), where it is attributed to [Mibu no] Tadamine.
はまちどりあきとしなればあさぎりにかたまどはしてなかぬ日ぞなき
hamachidori aki to shinareba asagiri ni kata madowashite nakanu hi zo naki | The plovers on the beach: When the autumn comes, In the morning mists Do lose their way; No day dawns without their cries… |
3
あきくればみやまざとこそわびしけれよるはほたるをともしびにして[1]
aki kureba miyamazato koso wabishikere yoru wa hotaru o tomoshibi ni shite | When the autumn comes My hut deep in the mountains Is lonelier by far; At night with fireflies For my lantern. |
4
[1] This poem also appears as Fubokushō 5545 where is it is listed as by Ōe no Chisato
Being quiet in company with a bush warbler (鶯閑中友)
Left
うぐひすのこゑを友にてくらすかなひとりながむる春の山里
uguisu no koe o tomo nite kurasu kana hitori nagamuru haru no yamazato | O, with a warbler’s Song To spend my days! Gazing out alone From a mountain hut in springtime… |
3
Right
山家はなく鶯のこゑのみぞのどけき春の友ときこゆる
yama ie wa naku uguisu no koe nomi zo nodokeki haru no tomo to kikoyuru | In a dwelling in the mountains With nothing but a singing warbler’s Song! Peaceful, pleasant springtime Is in the very sound. |
Fujiwara no Kunimoto, Ranked without Office
4
Composed as a poem on deer.
山ざとのあか月がたの鹿のねは夜半のあはれのかぎりなりけり
yamazato no akatukigata no sika no ne Fa yoFa no aFare no kagiri narikeri | In a mountain hut At the edge of dawn A deer’s cry makes Midnight’s misery All too clear… |
Jien
First Snow 初雪
都人まづこはみせん山ざとの庭のこけぢにふれるはつ雪
miyakobito mazu ko wa misen yamazato no niwa no kokeji ni fureru hatsuyuki | To folk from the capital First of all would I show My mountain home’s Mossy garden paths, where The first snow has fallen. |
Nakazane
'Simply moving and elegant'