1
only a crude thatched
roof now shelters this autumn’s
rice harvest & though
my sleeves have grown wet whether
from dew or tears I don’t know
--Emperor Tenchi
9
the flower’s luster
long ago faded away
lost in shallow thoughts
I idly watch life pass by
as if it were falling rain
--Ono no Komachi
12
divine gusts that show
flocks of clouds the way to go
please stop blowing now
the clouds look like women I'd
like to gaze upon a while
--Monk Henjou
21
I’ll come right over
you said & save for the cold
october moon still
shining at the break of dawn
I waited for you alone
--Monk Sosei
36
sometimes in summer
it feels like evening even
at the break of day
the clouds look soft as pillows
surely the moon’s sleeping there
--Kiyohara no Fukayabu
38
you broke your promise
you’ve forgotten me but I’ll
get by just the same
as for you however life
should prove quite disappointing
--Lady Ukon
40
although I’m silent
my face colors & reveals
my secret desire
for the one now asking me
if something is the matter
--Taira no Kanemori
41
they say I’m in love
that’s all I’ve heard this morning
everywhere I go
I’ve never told anyone
how I feel & yet they know
--Mibu no Tadami
46
in the kitan straits
my boat cuts through ash & fire
its rudder broken
I don’t know where I’m going
or how to navigate love
--Sone no Yoshitada
49
at the palace gates
the guards kindle fires that burn
throughout the night but
then watch them die in the day
in this manner passion fades
--Oonakatomi no Yoshinoubu
52
when the loving starts
sunset is sure to slap on
a fresh coat of paint
it never dries by sunrise
for the night is far too short
--Fujiwara no Michinobu
64
by the light of dawn
through the uji river fog
little by little
there appear on the surface
many bamboo fishing traps
--Fujiwara no Sadayori
66
we’re here together
on this mountain you & me
cherry tree neither
of us has any other
I offer you my friendship
--High Priest Gyouson
67
on this slow spring night
I dare not dream of making
your arm my pillow
such a casual gesture
may ruin my reputation
--Lady Suou no Naishi
72
everybody’s heard
about the flirtatious waves
of takashima
if I were to go I know
my sleeves would surely get wet
--Lady Yushi Naishinno-ke no Kii
73
cherry trees along
the slopes of takasago
are in full flower
I must ask the mountain mist
not to rise to spoil the view
--Oe no Masafusa
84
though the past is past
I recall it even now
so shall it endure
for generations to come
this constant yearning for love
--Fujiwara no Kiyosuke
97
she isn’t coming
to matsushima &
in the evening calm
I boil salt from seawater
angry impatient yearning
--Fujiwara no Teika
98
the cool rustling breeze
in the oaks by the river
leaves me this evening
in a bath of cold water
summer’s almost gone it seems
--Fujiwara no Ietaka
99
some disappoint me
others I deeply resent
but mostly I’m numb
my world is reaching its end
& I’ve grown so very tired
--Retired Emperor Gotoba
100
the palace still sprawls
beneath its ancient eaves lost
in the climbing vines
but sadly very little
remains of those bygone days
--Retired Emperor Juntoku
* * *
Note: My original interpretations of the Hyakunin Isshu draw from translation notes provided in Frank Watson's One Hundred Leaves as well as online sources, some of which are no longer accessible.
If you enjoy these, you may also like Otomo no Tabito: An Interpretation.
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Hokusai Katsushika, Poem by Sōsei Hōshi from the 100
Poems Explained by the Nurse series (1839) |
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