Last | Poems 691~720 (of 951) | Next

English   日本語   Romaji
  • 691
  • NotesHigasa Shore was near the castle town of Himeji (姫路) in the Harima fief, modern Day Hyougo Prefecture (兵庫). It was administered by directly by Hideyshi in the Momoyama Period (late 16 c.). In the early Edo period it was ruled first by the Daimyo Ikeda Teruma and later divided into 10 fiefs by Tokugawa Shogunate.
  • At Harima Shore

    on Higasa Bay

    all at once

    the bream-fishing skiffs

    are launching.

    はりまがた

    ひがさのうらに

    さしつれて

    鯛つる小舟

    朝びらきせり

    Harimagata

    Higasa no ura ni

    sashi tsure te

    tai tsuru obune

    asabiraki se ri.

    はりまかたひかさのうらにさしつれてたいつるをふねあさひらきせり

    はりまがたひがさのうらにさしつれてたいつるおぶねあさびらきせり

  • 692
  • Notes
  • Gazing

    far out

    across the sea

    in the buffeting

    salt wind.

    はるばると

    見るめも遠き

    うなばらに

    なびく帆かげや

    八重の汐風

    Harubaru to

    mirume mo tooki

    unabara ni

    nabiku hokage ya

    yae no shiokaze.

    はるはるとみるめもとほきうなはらになひくほかけややへのしほかせ

    はるばるとみるめもとおきうなばらになびくほかげややえのしおかぜ

  • 693
  • Notes
  • Chinese and Japanese

    many treasures

    piled high

    soon to arrive

    in the harbor of dreams.

    からやまと

    かずの寶を

    つみあげて

    おもふみなとに

    いまやよすらん

    Kara yamato

    kazu no takara wo

    tsumi age te

    omou minato ni

    ima ya yosu ran.

    からやまとかすのたからをつみあけておもふみなとにいまやよすらん

    からやまとかずのたからをつみあげておもうみなとにいまやよすらん

  • 694
  • NotesThe title reads: “For the Inscription on [a Painting of] a Treasure Ship.” Though Rengetsu uses “yaso” (八十, 80) referring to harbors, it is an arbitrary number... she simply means “many.” Likewise, though she uses “chiji” (千々, 1000 1000s) referring ages, spans of time, years of life, she simply means “a great many.”
  • The boat which enters

    eighty harbors

    around Lake Oumi

    shall come loaded

    with thousands of years of life...

    あふみのうみ

    やそのみなとに

    入舟や

    ちぢのよはひを

    つみてきつらん

    Oumi no umi

    yaso no minato ni

    iru fune ya

    chiji no yowai wo

    tsumi te ki tsu ran.

    あふみのうみやそのみなとにいるふねやちちのよはひをつみてきつらん

    おうみのうみやそのみなとにいるふねやちぢのよわいをつみてきつらん

  • 695
  • Notes
  • To their descendants

    it seems they handed down

    the blossoms of their true hearts

    calling me

    here at Sakurai Village.

    うみの子に

    いひのこしけむ

    眞ごころの

    花にゆかしき

    櫻井の里

    Umi no ko ni

    ii nokoshi ken

    magokoro no

    hana ni yukashiki

    Sakurai no sato.

    うみのこにいひのこしけむまこころのはなにゆかしきさくらゐのさと

    うみのこにいいのこしけんまごころのはなにゆかしきさくらいのさと

  • 696
  • NotesThe title is: When I saw off one who went East to serve the Emperor." Here, "East" refers to Edo / Tokyo. This poem was written between 1867 (when the Emperor moved permanently to Tokyo) and 1875 (the year of Rengetsu's passing).
  • I hear the pure name

    flowing out into the world

    is the matchless

    spirit of ancient Japan...

    water running under chrysanthemums.

    清き名の

    世に流れつつ

    たぐひなき

    大和ごころと

    きくの下水

    Kiyoki na no

    yo ni nagare tsutsu

    tagui naki

    yamatogokoro to

    kiku no shitamizu.

    きよきなのよになかれつつたくひなきやまとこころときくのしたみつ

    きよきなのよにながれつつたぐいなきやまとごころときくのしたみず

  • 697
  • NotesThe title is: “A Famous Hill.” It refers to Mayumi Hill (まゆみのおか / 真弓の丘), located it what was once the Yamato domain (やまと/ 大和), modern day Nara Prefecture (なら/ 奈良). Though this poem does not feature the word “moon,” the pillow words “azusayumi mayumi” strongly implies it, since it is the first two-thirds of an ancient set phrase referring to three pillow words: “Azusayumi, mayumi, tsukiyumi.” The third pillow word, “tsukiyumi” (omitted in the poem), contains “tsuki” (つき / 月), the word for “moon,” and “yumi” (ゆみ / 弓), the word for “bow,” drawing the common comparison between a bow and a crescent moon.
  • It shall pull at

    warrior's hearts...

    a bow of catalpa wood...

    rising over Mayumi Hill—

    the ever-returning crescent moon.

    もののふの

    心ひくらん

    あづさ弓

    まゆみの岡に

    たちかへりつつ

    Mononofu no

    kokoro hiku ran

    azusayumi

    Mayumi no oka ni

    tachi kaeri tsutsu.

    もののふのこころひくらんあつさゆみまゆみのをかにたちかへりつつ

    もののふのこころひくらんあずさゆみまゆみのおかにたちかえりつつ

  • 698
  • NotesThe title reads: “Fire on an Old Battle Field.” Awazugahara is the battlefield where Minamoto no Yoshinaka (源義仲 / 1154-1184) and his retainers died. Yoshinaka was from Kiso 木曽, an area in southern part of modern-day Nagano prefecture (長野県). The story is told in The Tale of the Heike (Heikemonogatari / 平家物語), a chronicle written the first half of Kamakura period (鎌倉時代 / 1185~1333).
  • The fire

    burning through the night

    at Awazugahara—

    the remains of a stand

    of cypress at Kiso.

    夜もすがら

    あはづが原に

    もゆる火は

    きその檜原の

    なごりなるらん

    Yomosugara

    Awazugahara ni

    moyuru hi wa

    Kiso no hibara no

    nagori naru ran.

    よもすからあはつかはらにもゆるひはきそのひはらのなこりなるらん

    よもすがらあわづがはらにもゆるひはきそのひばらのなごりなるらん

  • 699
  • Notes
  • In the ancient capital

    at a spring girded with board

    and buried under moss...

    the water is not pure

    and no one lives here any longer...

    ふる里の

    いたゐはこけに

    うづもれて

    水さへすまず

    なりにける哉

    Furusato no

    itai wa koke ni

    uzumore te

    mizu sae suma zu

    nari ni keru kana.

    ふるさとのいたゐはこけにうつもれてみつさへすますなりにけるかな

    ふるさとのいたいはこけにうずもれてみずさえすまずなりにけるかな

  • 700
  • Notes
  • Pure water

    crossing a field...

    as rain falls

    my visiting reflection

    also gets a bit cloudy.

    うちわたす

    野中の清水

    雨ふれば

    たちよるかげも

    ささにごりせり

    Uchi watasu

    nonaka no shimizu

    ame fure ba

    tachi yoru kage mo

    sasanigori se ri.

    うちわたすのなかのしみつあめふれはたちよるかけもささにこりせり

    うちわたすのなかのしみずあめふればたちよるかげもささにごりせり

  • 701
  • NotesThis poem also appears in the later volume Furuzuka no Kitsune, the seventeenth of its eighteen poems.
  • Well then, tonight...

    this leaf quilt

    this moss mat

    spread and bear them...

    I pray thee try.

    こよひさは

    木の葉のふすま

    苔むしろ

    しきしのびても

    こころみよ君

    Koyoi sa wa

    konoha no fusuma

    kokemushiro

    shiki shinobi te mo

    kokoromiyo kimi.

    こよひさはこのはのふすまこけむしろしきしのひてもこころみよきみ

    こよいさはこのはのふすまこけむしろしきしのびてもこころみよきみ

  • 702
  • NotesThe title is “When I made a kensui...” Kensui (建水) are ceramic water dishes for receiving the murky green water used in the ritual cleaning of tea bowls during a tea ceremony.
  • This night

    the croaking of frogs

    on Sarusawa Pond...

    in the sky from which they await rain—

    a clear moon...

    さる澤の

    池のかはづの

    なく夜さり

    雨まつそらに

    はるる月哉

    Sarusawa no

    ike no kawazu no

    naku yosari

    ame matsu sora ni

    haruru tsuki kana.

    さるさはのいけのかはつのなくよさりあめまつそらにはるるつきかな

    さるさわのいけのかわずのなくよさりあめまつそらにはるるつきかな

  • 703
  • Notes
  • Perfume the world

    elegantly as a blue cloud...

    standing on a high branch

    having decided to take the road East—

    the season's first blossom of plum.

    青雲の

    高くもかをれ

    あづま路に

    おもひたちえの

    梅の初花

    Aokumo no

    takaku mo kaore

    Azumaji ni

    omoi tachie no

    ume no hatsuhana.

    あをくものたかくもかをれあつまちにおもひたちえのうめのはつはな

    あおくものたかくもかおれあずまじにおもいたちえのうめのはつはな

  • 704
  • Notes
  • On the path of the Buddha

    the end of which

    I shall one day reach...

    will this long night's dream

    open onto a field of awakening?

    法の道

    わけゆく末や

    ながきよの

    夢もねざめの

    さとにいづらん

    Nori no michi

    wake yuku sue ya

    nagaki yo no

    yume mo nezame no

    sato ni izu ran.

    のりのみちわけゆくすゑやなかきよのゆめもねさめのさとにいつらん

    のりのみちわけゆくすえやながきよのゆめもねざめのさとにいづらん

  • 705
  • NotesThe title is “When Yoshika(是香) went east...”, referring to Yoshika Mutobe (六人部是香), one of the recipients of Rengetsu's letters, a scholar of ancient Japanese history and culture (Kokugakusha / 国学者), Shinto (Shintoka / 神道家), and waka poetry / Kagakusha (歌学者).
  • On your long

    road east...

    I pray

    the fields and mountains shall spread

    their brocade of maple leaves.

    君がゆく

    あづまのなが路

    野にやまに

    もみぢの錦

    かけよといはまし

    Kimi ga yuku

    azuma no nagaji

    no ni yama ni

    momiji no nishiki

    kakeyo to iwa mashi.

    きみかゆくあつまのなかちのにやまにもみちににしきかけよといはまし

    きみがゆくあずまのながじのにやまにもみじのにしきかけよといわまし

  • 706
  • Notes
  • Ah, the journey

    we gazed upon Mirror Mountain

    and parted...

    I pray your figure, seen from the back

    shall remain reflected there.

    かがみやま

    みつつわかれて

    ゆく旅の

    うしろかげだに

    なほうつらなん

    Kagamiyama

    mi tsutsu wakare te

    yuku tabi no

    ushirokage dani

    nao utsura nan.

    かかみやまみつつわかれてゆくたひのうしろかけたになほうつらなん

    かがみやまみつつわかれてゆくたびのうしろかげだになおうつらなん

  • 707
  • Notes
  • No way to hold you back...

    take the beckoning

    of young silver grasses

    in the summer fields

    as my sentiment.

    ひきとめん

    よしもなつ野の

    しのすすき

    まねくをおのが

    心とも見よ

    Hiki tome n

    yoshi mo natsuno no

    shinosusuki

    maneku wo ono ga

    kokoro to mo miyo.

    ひきとめんよしもなつののしのすすきまねくをおのかこころともみよ

    ひきとめんよしもなつののしのすすきまねくをおのがこころともみよ

  • 708
  • NotesThe title is “When Nishimura Aritoshi was appointed the Overseer of Sano and went east...” Aritoshi was a retainer of the Ii clan, whose Hikone Fief was headquartered on the eastern shores of Lake Biwa and also held land in Sano, Shimotsuke Fief, present-day Tochigi Prefecture).
  • Mount Hakone

    on your

    journey east...

    pray thee pass over twice

    and return soon.

    君がゆく

    あづまのたびの

    箱根山

    ふたたびこして

    とくかへりませ

    Kimi ga yuku

    azuma no tabi no

    Hakoneyama

    futatabi koshi te

    toku kaeri mase.

    きみかゆくあつまのたひのはこねやまふたたひこしてとくかへりませ

    きみがゆくあずまのたびのはこねやまふたたびこしてとくかえりませ

  • 709
  • NotesThe title of the poem is “For Kodera Shoudou (小寺韶堂), who is in Tosa (土佐).” Tosa Fief (Tosa-han / 土佐藩 ) was a feudal domain roughly situated in what is now Kouchi Prefecture (高知県) on Shikoku (四国), smallest of the four major islands of Japan, located south of Kyoto. In spring, wild geese migrate north.
  • When the wild geese ask

    please return with them

    straightaway―

    together let us frolic

    among the cherry blossoms of Miyako.

    かりがねの

    さそはばやがて

    かへりませ

    ともに都の

    花にあそばん

    Karigane no

    sasowa ba yagate

    kaeri mase

    tomo ni miyako no

    hana ni asoba n.

    かりかねのさそははやかてかへりませともにみやこのはなにあそはん

    かりがねのさそわばやがてかえりませともにみやこのはなにあそばん

  • 710
  • NotesIt is unclear which tree Rengetsu meant with katsura, the cinnamon tree (as Japanese usage would suggest) or the fragrant olive tree (as the kanji would suggest in Chinese).
  • From the katsura tree

    that lives on the moon in Chinese lore

    one branch at least

    I pray you break off and bring back

    as a memento for me.

    もろこしの

    月のかつらの

    一本も

    をりもてかへれ

    わが家づとに

    Morokoshi no

    tsuki no katsura no

    hitomoto mo

    ori mo te kaere

    wa ga iezuto ni.

    もろこしのつきのかつらのひともともをりもてかへれわかいへつとに

    もろこしのつきのかつらのひともともおりもてかえれわがいえづとに

  • 711
  • NotesThe title, “As Tomioka makes for Ezo” (蝦夷 / present-day Hokkaido(北海道), the second largest and northernmost of Japan's four major islands), refers to the major nanga artist Tomioka Tessai (1837~1924), her protege, frequent collaborator and closest friend.
  • Even the rough waves

    of Chishima near Ezo

    where you go

    shall calm as you approach

    and wait for you to cross.

    君のゆく

    えぞのちしまの

    あら波も

    をりしづまりて

    まちわたるらん

    Kimi no yuku

    Ezo no Chishima no

    aranami mo

    ori shizumari te

    machi wataru ran.

    きみのゆくえそのちしまのあらなみもをりしつまりてまちわたるらん

    きみのゆくえぞのちしまのあらなみもおりしずまりてまちわたるらん

  • 712
  • Notes
  • With the mist

    beginning to rise

    you return...

    so like

    the wild geese.

    立初る

    かすみとともに

    かへるらむ

    雁にもにたる

    君にもあるかな

    Tachi somuru

    kasumi to tomo ni

    kaeru ran

    kari ni mo ni taru

    kimi ni mo aru kana.

    たちそむるかすみとともにかへるらむかりにもにたるきみにもあるかな

    たちそむるかすみとともにかえるらんかりにもにたるきみにもあるかな

  • 713
  • NotesThe prologue reads: “On a board for binding tanzakus, delivered between Sugimura Soua (杉村宗阿) and myself.” The board referred to was used for binding poems brushed on oblong cards (tanzaku) to protect them as they were sent back and forth. Rengetsu envied the binding board because, unlike her, it could visit her friend often.
  • As “waka”

    come and go

    this is delivered with them―

    single-mindedly

    I envy this one-layer binding board.

    ことのはの

    道のゆききに

    かよふらん

    いたのひとへに

    うらやまれける

    Kotonoha no

    michi no yukiki ni

    kayou ran

    ita no hitoe ni

    urayama re keru.

    ことのはのみちのゆききにかよふらんいたのひとへにうらやまれける

    ことのはのみちのゆききにかようらんいたのひとえにうらやまれける

  • 714
  • Notes
  • Ah, Isonokami Shrine...

    traveling robes

    from ancient times...

    without a picture

    how can I imagine them?

    いそのかみ

    ふるきむかしの

    旅姿

    うつしゑならで

    いかでみるべき

    Isonokami

    furuki mukashi no

    tabisugata

    utsushie nara de

    ikade miru beki.

    いそのかみふるきむかしのたひすかたうつしゑならていかてみるへき

    いそのかみふるきむかしのたびすがたうつしえならでいかでみるべき

  • 715
  • Notes
  • Having darkened out

    my path home

    is also hard to see...

    the summer grasses thick

    here in Nishigamo Village.

    くれぬとて

    かへる家路も

    そこはかと

    夏草しげし

    にしがもの里

    Kure nu to te

    kaeru ieji mo

    sokohakato

    natsukusa shigeshi

    Nishigamo no sato.

    くれぬとてかへるいへちもそこはかとなつくさしけしにしかものさと

    くれぬとてかえるいえじもそこはかとなつくさしげしにしがものさと

  • 716
  • Notes
  • At the inn

    on a grated footbridge

    a cat as short

    as the waning light

    welcomed me to stay the night.

    はたごやの

    すのこのはしに

    ゐる猫の

    せのかぎりこそ

    日はのこりけれ

    Hatagoya no

    sunoko no hashi ni

    iru neko no

    se no kagiri koso

    hi wa nokori kere.

    はたこやのすのこのはしにゐるねこのせのかきりこそひはのこりけれ

    はたごやのすのこのはしにいるねこのせのかぎりこそひはのこりけれ

  • 717
  • NotesSada (佐太) is both the name of a village in what was once the Kawachi domain (河内国), present day Osaka Prefecture(大阪府), and a term meaning “the best time of one's life.” Mount Shide (死出の山) is both an actual place in the Yamazaki area (山崎) of southwestern Kyoto and the mythical mountain people depart from on their way to the hereafter. Rengetsu, likening her life to the road from Sada to Yamzaki, is reflecting that she has gotten ancient and, with the best days of her life behind her, is approaching death.
  • Having come far

    from Sada

    in Kawachi

    Mount Shide in Yamazaki

    is getting closer.

    かはちなる

    さだもはるかに

    すぎぬれば

    しでの山ざき

    ちかくなるらん

    Kawachi naru

    Sada mo harukani

    sugi nure ba

    Shide no Yamazaki

    chikaku naru ran.

    かはちなるさたもはるかにすきぬれはしてのやまさきちかくなるらん

    かわちなるさだもはるかにすぎぬればしでのやまざきちかくなるらん

  • 718
  • Notes
  • Cutting reeds

    on Naniwa Bay...

    one who did bad things

    and paid with their life...

    how pitiful!

    なにはえに

    あしかるわざを

    なしはてて

    みをつくしけん

    人ぞかなしき

    Naniwae ni

    ashi karu waza wo

    nashi hate te

    mi wo tsukushi ken

    hito zo kanashiki.

    なにはえにあしかるわさをなしはててみをつくしけんひとそかなしき

    なにわえにあしかるわざをなしはててみをつくしけんひとぞかなしき

  • 719
  • NotesThe is similarity to 795 suggest that this poem, though it has no title, made for a person who lost a child.
  • The jewel you have kept

    wrapped has broken...

    ah, Chinese robes...

    you must be at a loss

    unable to dry your empty sleeves.

    つつみこし

    玉はくだけて

    から衣

    むなしき袖を

    ほしやわぶらん

    Tsutsumi ko shi

    tama wa kudake te

    karakoromo

    munashiki sode wo

    hoshi ya wabu ran.

    つつみこしたまはくたけてからころもむなしきそてをほしやわふらん

    つつみこしたまはくだけてからころもむなしきそでをほしやわぶらん

  • 720
  • NotesThe prologue of this poem reads: ふしみにいくさありとて火具の音のいみしうひゝきわたりかゝれは (Romaji: Fushimi ni ikusa ari to te kagu no oto no imijuu hibiki watari kakare ba... / English: The battle has started in Fushimi and the sound of guns spreads through the city... ). “The sound of guns” is what Rengetsu refers to when she writes that the sound of winds of the time are “also fierce.”
  • Hearing from afar

    the sound, also fierce

    of the present winds—

    I pray they will not lay waste

    to flowered Miyako.

    よそにきく

    音もはげしき

    時津風

    花のみやこを

    ちらさずもがな

    Yoso ni kiku

    oto mo hageshiki

    tokitsukaze

    hana no miyako wo

    chirasa zu moga na.

    よそにきくおともはけしきときつかせはなのみやこをちらさすもかな

    よそにきくおともはげしきときつかぜはなのみやこをちらさずもがな


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