Last | Poems 511~540 (of 951) | Next

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  • 511
  • Notes
  • Among these string-stemmed

    sponge gourds

    signs of a long future...

    how many

    happy knots will form?

    ゆく末の

    ながきためしの

    糸瓜に

    めでたきふしを

    いくむすびせん

    Yukusue no

    nagaki tameshi no

    itouri ni

    medetaki fushi wo

    iku musubi se n.

    ゆくすゑのなかきためしのいとうりにめてたきふしをいくむすひせん

    ゆくすえのながきためしのいとうりにめでたきふしをいくむすびせん

  • 512
  • Notes
  • Bamboo leaves

    in the upper branches

    sway and bend on Mount Fushimi...

    nearly to the edge of Miyako

    autumn has come.

    くれ竹の

    末葉そよぎて

    ふしみ山

    みやこにちかく

    秋はきにけり

    Kuretake no

    sueba soyogi te

    Fushimiyama

    miyako ni chikaku

    aki wa ki ni keri.

    くれたけのすゑはそよきてふしみやまみやこにちかくあきはきにけり

    くれたけのすえばそよぎてふしみやまみやこにちかくあきはきにけり

  • 513
  • Notes
  • Bamboo grasses

    have not bloomed...

    though I hide my love

    their lower leaves rustle

    in the first wind of autumn.

    ほにいでぬ

    しののを薄

    しのぶれど

    下ばさざめく

    秋のはつ風

    Ho ni ide nu

    shino no osusuki

    shinobure do

    shitaba sazameku

    aki no hatsukaze.

    ほにいてぬしののをすすきしのふれとしたはささめくあきのはつかせ

    ほにいでぬしののおすすきしのぶれどしたばさざめくあきのはつかぜ

  • 514
  • Notes
  • Beneath the Milky Way

    I hear clouds

    rumbling in waves—

    Is the Weaver Princess

    crossing the sky?

    天の川

    雲の波こそ

    さわぐなれ

    たなばたつめや

    今わたるらん

    Amanogawa

    kumo no nami koso

    sawagu nare

    Tanabatatsume ya

    ima wataru ran.

    あまのかはくものなみこそさわくなれたなはたつめやいまわたるらん

    あまのがわくものなみこそさわぐなれたなばたつめやいまわたるらん

  • 515
  • Notes“Akihagi” (秋萩) is an elegant, pointedly seasonal way of referring to “hagi” (萩 / Lespedeza bicolor). It is a flowering shrub which blooms in autumn, often called Japanese clover or bush clover. “Hagi” has been used since ancient times in a “hanazuma” (traditional pairing of words) with “saojika” (Aki, please add the kanji for saojika here. / stag), whose crying in autumn scenes signifies longing for a lover.
  • On my way

    what I never tire of seeing

    in the fields

    where stags cry—

    blooming autumn clover.

    ゆくままに

    見れどあかぬは

    さをじかの

    なくなる野べに

    咲る秋萩

    Yuku mama ni

    mire do aka nu wa

    saojika no

    naku naru nobe ni

    sake ru akihagi.

    ゆくままにみれとあかぬはさをしかのなくなるのへにさけるあきはき

    ゆくままにみれどあかぬはさおじかのなくなるのべにさけるあきはぎ

  • 516
  • Notes
  • Evening dewdrops

    fall like pearls...

    surrounded in the meadow

    by a brocade of autumn clover—

    my makeshift hut.

    ゆふ露は

    たまとみだれて

    秋萩の

    にしきにかこむ

    野べのかりいほ

    Yuutsuyu wa

    tama to midare te

    akihagi no

    nishiki ni kakomu

    nobe no kariio.

    ゆふつゆはたまとみたれてあきはきのにしきにかこむのへのかりいほ

    ゆうつゆはたまとみだれてあきはぎのにしきにかこむのべのかりいお

  • 517
  • Notes
  • Pearls of dewdrops

    on gently windblown clover...

    at turns

    falling and alighting again—

    the image of the moon.

    かぜそよぐ

    小萩が露の

    たまたまに

    ちりてまたおく

    月のかげかな

    Kaze soyogu

    kohagi ga tsuyu no

    tamatama ni

    chiri te mata oku

    tsuki no kage kana.

    かせそよくこはきかつゆのたまたまにちりてまたおくつきのかけかな

    かぜそよぐこはぎがつゆのたまたまにちりてまたおくつきのかげかな

  • 518
  • NotesMaiden grasses symbolize of the citizens of Rengetsu's day, who had widely varying opinion
  • Maiden grasses

    cannot bend

    in one direction...

    in a world falling into disorder

    how sad the autumn.

    一かたに

    なびきもあへず

    糸薄

    みだれゆく世の

    秋ぞかなしき

    Hitokata ni

    nabiki mo ae zu

    itosusuki

    midare yuku yo no

    aki zo kanashiki.

    ひとかたになひきもあへすいとすすきみたれゆくよのあきそかなしき

    ひとかたになびきもあえずいとすすきみだれゆくよのあきぞかなしき

  • 519
  • NotesThis poem, entitled “On the Day the Confusion Ended”, along with 518 and 520, refers to an historical incident called “The Affair of the 18th Day of the 8th (Lunar) Month,” a conflict at the imperial palace (Gosho / 御所) in Miyako (Kyoto) in 1862, which pitted the ruling Tokugawa clan and its allies the Satsuma (薩摩藩) and Aizu (会津藩) clans against the Choushu clan (長州藩). The Satsuma clan (薩摩藩) was based in the Satsuma (薩摩) and Oosumi (大隅) domains, present-day Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島) on Kyuushuu, third largest of Japan's four major islands. The Aizu clan (会津藩) was based in the Mutsu (陸奥) Shimotsuke (下野) domains, present-day Fukushima (福島) and Niigata (新潟) Prefectures. The Choushu clan (長州藩) was based in the Suou (周防) domain, present-day Yamaguchi (山口) prefecture. On 19th day of the 8th (lunar) month, Rengetsu heard the Choushu clan had withdrawn and composed this poem, in which the east wind symbolizes the ruling Tokugawa clan (and perhaps its allies).
  • Maiden grasses...

    I heard they pulled back

    and have vanished—

    the strength of the East Wind

    comes to mind.

    いとすすき

    ひきていにしと

    きくからに

    東風のつよさを

    思ひこそやれ

    Itosusuki

    hiki te ini shi to

    kiku kara ni

    kochi no tsuyosa wo

    omoi koso yare.

    いとすすきひきていにしときくからにこちのつよさをおもひこそやれ

    いとすすきひきていにしときくからにこちのつよさをおもいこそやれ

  • 520
  • Notes
  • Despite my hopes

    being pulled apart

    like strings of maiden grass...

    in a world falling into disorder

    how sad the autumn.

    さりともの

    たのみもきれて

    糸薄

    みだれゆく世の

    秋ぞかなしき

    Saritomo no

    tanomi mo kire te

    itosusuki

    midare yuku yo no

    aki zo kanashiki.

    さりとものたのみもきれていとすすきみたれゆくよのあきそかなしき

    さりとものたのみもきれていとすすきみだれゆくよのあきぞかなしき

  • 521
  • Notes
  • Grasses by the hundreds

    their flowers in full bloom

    weave a Chinese brocade―

    in this field marked as my own

    there is no day I do not part them.

    百草の

    花のさかりの

    からにしき

    ひとりしめのを

    わけぬ日ぞなき

    Momokusa no

    hana no sakari no

    karanishiki

    hitori shimeno wo

    wake nu hi zo naki.

    ももくさのはなのさかりのからにしきひとりしめのをわけぬひそなき

    ももくさのはなのさかりのからにしきひとりしめのをわけぬひぞなき

  • 522
  • Notes
  • Lying wet with dew

    in a flowery meadow

    at dawn...

    I wish to awaken

    this butterfly from its dream.

    ぬれてふす

    花野の露の

    朝ぼらけ

    こてふの夢を

    おどろかさばや

    Nure te fusu

    hanano no tsuyu no

    asaborake

    kochou no yume wo

    odorokasa baya.

    ぬれてふすはなののつゆのあさほらけこてふのゆめをおとろかさはや

    ぬれてふすはなののつゆのあさぼらけこちょうのゆめをおどろかさばや

  • 523
  • NotesIn the same way that hands are stylized in poems as sleeves, pillows may indicate the place where one takes rest: a bed, a porch, a room, a hut, or the open road.
  • A cricket

    beneath

    this old sick pillow...

    neither one to wake with

    nor one to hear.

    老てやむ

    まくらのしたの

    きりぎりす

    おなじ寝覚に

    きく人もなし

    Oi te yamu

    makura no shita no

    kirigirisu

    onaji nezame ni

    kiku hito mo nashi.

    おいてやむまくらのしたのきりきりすおなしねさめにきくひともなし

    おいてやむまくらのしたのきりぎりすおなじねざめにきくひともなし

  • 524
  • Notes
  • In an old pond...

    figures of geese

    seen winging over

    as willows shed

    this autumn evening.

    古池に

    そらとぶ雁の

    かげみえて

    柳かつちる

    秋の夕ぐれ

    Furuike ni

    sora tobu kari no

    kage mie te

    yanagi katsu chiru

    aki no yuugure.

    ふるいけにそらとふかりのかけみえてやなきかつちるあきのゆふくれ

    ふるいけにそらとぶかりのかげみえてやなぎかつちるあきのゆうぐれ

  • 525
  • Notes
  • Weary of the world...

    an autumn evening dream

    carried me off to sleep...

    today

    awakened by the morning bell.

    世のなかを

    あきの夕べの

    夢にふして

    けふあかつきの

    鐘におどろく

    Yononaka wo

    aki no yuube no

    yume ni fushi te

    kyou akatsuki no

    kane ni odoroku.

    よのなかをあきのゆふへのゆめにふしてけふあかつきのかねにおとろく

    よのなかをあきのゆうべのゆめにふしてきょうあかつきのかねにおどろく

  • 526
  • Notes
  • In a blowing

    cloud-sweeping wind

    the light brightens...

    a pure mirror that never dims—

    the autumn night moon.

    吹はらふ

    風に光は

    ますかがみ

    ちりもくもらぬ

    秋のよの月

    Fuki harau

    kaze ni hikari wa

    masukagami

    chiri mo kumora nu

    aki no yo no tsuki.

    ふきはらふかせにひかりはますかかみちりもくもらぬあきのよのつき

    ふきはらうかぜにひかりはますかがみちりもくもらぬあきのよのつき

  • 527
  • Notes
  • Closed by day

    I leave

    my brushwood door

    open

    awaiting the moonlight.

    さしながら

    ひるはくらしし

    柴の戸を

    あけてわがまつ

    月の影哉

    Sashi nagara

    hiru wa kurashi shi

    shiba no to wo

    ake te wa ga matsu

    tsuki no kage kana.

    さしなからひるはくらしししはのとをあけてわかまつつきのかけかな

    さしながらひるはくらしししばのとをあけてわがまつつきのかげかな

  • 528
  • Notes
  • I shall sweep away

    the weeds

    I have hidden in

    only so

    the moon may come.

    とぢこめし

    むぐらの下に

    月のみは

    さし入ばかり

    かき拂ひてん

    Toji kome shi

    mugura no shita ni

    tsuki nomi wa

    sashi iru bakari

    kaki harai te n.

    とちこめしむくらのしたにつきのみはさしいるはかりかきはらひてん

    とじこめしむぐらのしたにつきのみはさしいるばかりかきはらいてん

  • 529
  • Notes
  • Because of the nightly moon

    I have become a fieldkeep

    in the end...

    this pillow the sleeve

    of my beloved silver grass.

    よなよなの

    月にのもりと

    なりはてて

    なるる尾花が

    そで枕かな

    Yonayona no

    tsuki ni nomori to

    nari hate te

    naruru obana ga

    sodemakura kana.

    よなよなのつきにのもりとなりはててなるるをはなかそてまくらかな

    よなよなのつきにのもりとなりはててなるるおばながそでまくらかな

  • 530
  • Notes
  • Gaze upon it

    shall make it a hook

    so I shall not...

    this floating world's

    autumn night moon.

    ながむれば

    これしもやがて

    ほだしなり

    みじや浮世の

    秋のよの月

    Nagamure ba

    kore shi mo yagate

    hodashi nari

    mi ji ya ukiyo no

    aki no yo no tsuki.

    なかむれはこれしもやかてほたしなりみしやうきよのあきのよのつき

    ながむればこれしもやがてほだしなりみじやうきよのあきのよのつき

  • 531
  • NotesIn Chinese folklore, katsura trees are symbolic of lofty ideals or success.
  • A katsura tree up on the moon

    is not my aim...

    only as an copy of what others do

    I broke off a branch

    and set it on my head.

    月のうちの

    かつらはおもひ

    かけぬみも

    こは人まねに

    をりかざしてん

    Tsuki no uchi no

    katsura wa omoi

    kake nu mi mo

    ko wa hitomane ni

    ori kazashi te n.

    つきのうちのかつらはおもひかけぬみもこはひとまねにをりかざしてん

    つきのうちのかつらはおもいかけぬみもこはひとまねにおりかざしてん

  • 532
  • Notes
  • My hope is to die

    beneath the moon

    in autumn

    so that in the darkness

    I will never be lost.

    ねがはくは

    月のかげにて

    秋しなん

    さらばやみにも

    まよはざらまし

    Negawaku wa

    tsuki no kage ni te

    aki shina n

    saraba yami ni mo

    mayowa zara mashi.

    ねかはくはつきのかけにてあきしなんさらはやみにもまよはさらまし

    ねがわくはつきのかげにてあきしなんさらばやみにもまよわざらまし

  • 533
  • Notes
  • Though it seems

    I could scoop this up

    with a gourd

    its beauty is deep—

    the moon in a mountain well.

    ひさごもて

    汲もえつべき

    かげながら

    あはれはふかし

    山の井の月

    Hisago mo te

    kumi mo e tsu beki

    kage nagara

    aware wa fukashi

    yamanoi no tsuki.

    ひさこもてくみもえつへきかけなからあはれはふかしやまのいのつき

    ひさごもてくみもえつべきかげながらあわれはふかしやまのいのつき

  • 534
  • Notes
  • The wind

    that blew around in the pines last night

    has calmed...

    the night deepens with the moon

    here in this autumn mountain village.

    宵のまの

    松吹風も

    しづまりて

    月にふけゆく

    秋の山里

    Yoi no ma no

    matsu fuku kaze mo

    shizumari te

    tsuki ni fuke yuku

    aki no yamazato.

    よひのまのまつふくかせもしつまりてつきにふけゆくあきのやまさと

    よいのまのまつふくかぜもしずまりてつきにふけゆくあきのやまざと

  • 535
  • Notes
  • Casting my gaze

    across the face of Nio Lake

    late this evening...

    hanging above Yabase―

    a crescent moon.

    夕ぐれの

    にほのうみづら

    みわたせば

    矢ばせにかかる

    弓張の月

    Yuugure no

    Nio no umizura

    mi watase ba

    Yabase ni kakaru

    yumihari no tsuki.

    ゆふくれのにほのうみつらみわたせはやはせにかかるゆみはりのつき

    ゆうぐれのにおのうみづらみわたせばやばせにかかるゆみはりのつき

  • 536
  • Notes
  • Having come out

    to Ashiya Bay

    where the wind blows gently...

    I gaze at the waning moon

    which makes one wait to see it.

    風そよぐ

    芦屋の浦に

    たちいでて

    しばしゐまちの

    月をみる哉

    Kaze soyogu

    Ashiya no ura ni

    tachi ide te

    shibashi imachi no

    tsuki wo miru kana.

    かせそよくあしやのうらにたちいててしはしゐまちのつきをみるかな

    かぜそよぐあしやのうらにたちいでてしばしいまちのつきをみるかな

  • 537
  • Notes
  • Had these dewdrops not

    alighted upon my sleeves

    I would take this as

    something only of the sky—

    the autumn night moon.

    そでの露

    かからざりせば

    大そらの

    ものとのみみん

    秋のよの月

    Sode no tsuyu

    kakara zari se ba

    oosora no

    mono to nomi mi n

    aki no yo no tsuki.

    そてのつゆかからさりせはおおそらのものとのみみんあきのよのつき

    そでのつゆかからざりせばおおそらのものとのみみんあきのよのつき

  • 538
  • NotesThe title is “Autumn Moon over Mount Okachi in Mino” (美濃、御勝山の秋月). Mount Mikachi (more commonly known as Mount Okachi) is located in what was once the Mino domain, in the southern part of modern day Gifu Prefecture. The mountain's name is includes honorific prefix “Mi” or “O” (御) and kachi (勝) meaning victory. It is said to be where Ieyasu (家康), the first Tokugawa Shogun, set up camp when he won the battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い), which ushered in the Edo Period (1603~1867). Line 4 of the Japanese strongly implies [through the use of "so no" (someone's) and “mitorashi” (an honorific form of “what is held”)] that the person holding the bow-shaped moon is the shogun. However, since he is not explicitly mentioned, the poem admits another weaker possibility, that the one doing the holding is Mount Mikachi itself, in which case, the mountain is personified.
  • I can still

    see the light

    high above Mount Mikachi...

    what he holds—

    the bow-shaped moon.

    影高き

    光をいまも

    みかち山

    そのみとらしの

    弓張の月

    Kage takaki

    hikari wo ima mo

    Mikachiyama

    so no mitorashi no

    yumihari no tsuki.

    かけたかきひかりをいまもみかちやまそのみとらしのゆみはりのつき

    かげたかきひかりをいまもみかちやまそのみとらしのゆみはりのつき

  • 539
  • NotesThis poem is an implicit reference to the Age of the Gods (神代), the temporal setting of Japan's creation myth, mainly spelled out in two early Nara Period (8th c.) chronicles: the Kojiki (古事記 / Chronicles of Ancient Times) and the Nihon Shoki (日本書紀 / Chronicles of the Japanese Eras)
  • Still now

    I can see

    the shining power of gods

    from the Ancient Age—

    light from the crescent moon.

    そのかみの

    神の御稜威の

    いちじるき

    光りをいまも

    みか月のかげ

    So no kami no

    kami no miitsu no

    ichijiruki

    hikari wo ima mo

    mikazuki no kage.

    そのかみのかみのみいつのいちしるきひかりをいまもみかつきのかけ

    そのかみのかみのみいつのいちじるきひかりをいまもみかづきのかげ

  • 540
  • Notes
  • Deep into the plain of Musashi

    all through an autumn night

    I'd like to part the grasses

    and reach a place beyond

    moonlight and the voices of bugs.

    むさし野に

    秋のよすがら

    わけいりて

    月と虫との

    はてをしらばや

    Musashino ni

    aki no yosugara

    wake iri te

    tsuki to mushi to no

    hate wo shira baya.

    むさしのにあきのよすからわけいりてつきとむしとのはてをしらはや

    むさしのにあきのよすがらわけいりてつきとむしとのはてをしらばや


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