#22 Fun'ya no Yasuhide

Fun'ya no Yasuhide

Fuku kara ni
Aki no kusaki no
Shiorureba
Mube yama kaze o
Arashi to iuran


Fun'ya no Yasuhide

It is by its breath
That autumn's leaves of trees and grass
Are wasted and driven.
So they call this mountain wind
The wild one, the destroyer.


(comment)
kanji-symbol "嵐"(storm) is made up from the element for "山"(mountain) and "風"(wind).

#21 The Monk Sosei

Sosei Hoshi

Ima kon to
Iishi bakari ni
Nagatsuki no
Ariake no tsuki o
Machi izuru kana


The Monk Sosei

Just because she said,
"In a moment I will come,"
I've awaited her
Until the moon of daybreak,
In the long month, has appeared.


(comment)
"Nagatsuki"(in romaji text) means september by lunas calender.

#20 Prince Motoyoshi

Motoyoshi Shinno

Wabi nureba
Ima hata onaji
Naniwa naru
Mi o tsukushite mo
Awan to zo omou


Prince Motoyoshi

In this dire distress
My life is meaningless.
So we must meet now,
Even though it costs my life
In the Bay of Naniwa.


(comment)
I think feelings of love and despair are expressed in this poem.

#19 Iady Ise

Ise

Naniwa gata
Mijikaki ashi no
Fushi no ma mo
Awade kono yo o
Sugushite yo to ya


Lady Ise

Even for a time
Short as a piece of the reeds
In Naniwa's marsh,
We must never meet again:
Is this what you are asking me?


(comment)
Naniwa's marsh is a part of present osaka bay.

#18 Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason

Sumi no e no
Kishi ni yoru nami
Yoru sae ya
Yume no kayoi ji
Hito me yoku ran


Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

The waves are gathered
On the shore of Sumi Bay,
And in the gathered night,
When in dreams I go to you,
I hide from people's eyes.


(comment)
Toshiyuki expressed the sadness that the lady who he loved didn't appear in his dream.

#17 Ariwara no Narihira

Ariwara no Narihira Ason

Chihayaburu
Kamiyo mo kikazu
Tatsuta-gawa
Kara kurenai ni
Mizu kukuru to wa


Ariwara no Narihira

Even when the gods
Held sway in the ancient days,
I have never heard
That water gleamed with autumn red
As it does in Tatta's stream

　　
(comment)
Narihira expressed the beautiful patterns with autumnal red leaves that flow on the water of the river.

#16 Ariwara no Yukihira

Chunagon Yukihira

Tachi wakare
Inaba no yama no
Mine ni oru
Matsu to shi kikaba
Ima kaeri kon


Ariwara no Yukihira

Though we are parted,
If on Mount Inaba's peak
I should hear the sound
Of the pine trees growing there,
I'll come back again to you.


(comment)
Yukihira composed this poem before he leave the capital.
"pine-tree"(matsu) and "wait"(matsu) are homophone in Japanese.So, the meaning that "If you will be waiting for me,I,ll come back" is hidding in the poem.

#15 Emperor koko

Koko Tenno

Kimi ga tame
Haru no no ni idete
Wakana tsumu
Waga koromode ni
Yuki wa furi tsutsu


Emperor Koko

It is for your sake
That I walk the fields in spring,
Gathering green herbs,
While my garment's hanging sleeves
Are speckled with falling snow.


(comment)
At that day, they give present with poem.

#14 Minamoto no Toru

Kawara no Sadaijin

Michinoku no
Shinobu moji-zuri
Tare yue ni
Midare some ni shi
Ware naranaku ni


Minamoto no Toru

Like Michinoku prints
Of the tangled leaves of ferns,
It is because of you
That I have become confused;
But my love for you remains.


(comment)
Michinoku prints (Shinobu moji-zuri) means a kind of dyeing which form intricate pattern.

# 13 Emperor Yozei

Yozei In

Tsukuba ne no
Mine yori otsuru
Minano-gawa
Koi zo tsumorite
Fuchi to nari nuru


Emperor Yozei

From Tsukuba's peak
Falling waters have become
Mina's still, full flow:
So my love has grown to be
Like the river's quiet deeps.

(comment)
Mina is a river that flows from Mt. Tsukuba.

#12 The Monk Henjo

Sojo Henjo

Ama tsu kaze
Kumo no kayoiji
Fuki toji yo
Otome no sugata
Shibashi todomen


The Monk Henjo

Let the winds of heaven
Blow through the paths among the clouds
And close their gates.
Then for a while I could detain
These messengers in maiden form.


(comment)
Henjo compare the girls danceing in the court to heavenly maidens.

#11 Ono no Takamura

Sangi Takamura

Wata no hara
Yasoshima kakete
Kogi idenu to
Hito ni wa tsugeyo
Ama no tsuri bune


Ono no Takamura

Over the wide sea
Towards its many distant isles
My ship sets sail.
Will the fishing boats thronged here
Proclaim my journey to the world?


(comment)
Takamura was given duty as a member of imperial embassy to china.
But he didn't embark the ship.
So, he was banished as a penalty.
In this poem, there is no word which express lonliness.
But I feel lonliness from whole of this poem.

#10 Semimaru

Semimaru

Kore ya kono
Yuku mo kaeru mo
Wakarete wa
Shiru mo shiranu mo
Osaka no seki


Semimaru

Truly, this is where
Travelers who go or come
Over parting ways--
Friends or strangers--all must meet:
The gate of "Meeting Hill."


(comment)
Meet and separate,The lonliness of the life is expressed in this poem.
But This poem doesn't have dark tune.

#9 Ono no Komachi

Ono no Komachi

Hana no iro wa
Utsuri ni keri na
Itazura ni
Waga mi yo ni furu
Nagame seshi ma ni


Ono no Komachi

Color of the flower
Has already faded away,
While in idle thoughts
My life passes vainly by,
As I watch the long rains fall.


(comment)
It is telled that Ono no Komachi was a amazing beautiful lady.
She compared life to a flower.

#8 The Monk Kisen

Kisen Hoshi

Waga io wa
Miyako no tatsumi
Shika zo sumu
Yo o Ujiyama to
Hito wa iu nari


The Monk Kisen

My lowly hut is
Southeast from the capital.
Thus I choose to live.
And the world in which I live
Men have named a "Mount of Gloom."


(comment)
In this poem,Monk Kisen told brightly about people's rumors for him.

#7 Abe no Nakamaro

Abe no Nakamaro

Ama no hara
Furisake mireba
Kasuga naru
Mikasa no yama ni
Ideshi tsuki kamo


Abe no Nakamaro

When I look up at
The wide-stretched plain of heaven,
Is the moon the same
That rose on Mount Mikasa
In the land of Kasuga?


(comment)
Abe no Nakamaro went to China as a member of Imperial embassy, when he was young.
And stayed there long time.
It is told that he composed this poem just after the banquet for going back to Japan.
Nostalgia to home country is expressed in this poem. But there is no dark tone.
But unfortunetly, the ship he embarked was wrecked.
He had never returned to Japan.

#6 Otomo no Yakamochi

Chunagon Yakamochi

Kasasagi no
Wataseru hashi ni
Oku shimo no
Shiroki o mireba
Yo zo fuke ni keru

Otomo no Yakamochi

If I see that bridge
That is spanned by flights of magpies
Across the arc of heaven
Made white with a deep-laid frost,
Then the night is almost past.


(comment)
In this poem, Otomo no Yakamochi made a fantastic and fasionating image by casting a scenery of winter to the milkey way in the night sky of autumn.

#5 Sarumaru

Sarumaru Dayu

Okuyama ni
Momiji fumiwake
Naku shika no
Koe kiku toki zo
Aki wa kanashiki


Sarumaru

In the mountain depths,
Treading through the crimson leaves,
The wandering stag calls.
When I hear the lonely cry,
Sad--how sad!--the autumn is.


(comment)
From old times,the sound of stag crying has been written in many poem as sad sound.

#4 Yamabe no Akahito

Yamabe no Akahito

Tago no Ura ni
Uchi idete mireba
Shirotae no
Fuji no takane ni
Yuki wa furi tsutsu


Yamabe no Akahito

When I take the path
To Tago's coast, I see
Perfect whiteness laid
On Mount Fuji's lofty peak
By the drift of falling snow.


(comment)
Yamabe no Akahito had an excellent ability in vivid description of scenery　of nanture.

#3 Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Ashibiki no
Yamadori no o no
Shidari o no
Naganagashi yo o
Hitori ka mo nen


Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Oh, the foot-drawn trail
Of the mountain-pheasant's tail
Drooped like down-curved branch!
Through this long, long-dragging night
Must I lie in bed alone?


(comment)
In that times, people believed that a couple of mountain-pheasant is togather in day time.But they slept other peak sepaleted by a vally at night.

#2 Empress Jito

Jito Tennou

Haru sugite
Natsu ki ni kerashi
Shirotae no
Koromo hosu cho
Ama no kaguyama


Empress Jito

The spring has passed
And the summer come again;
For the silk-white robes,
So they say,are spread to dry
On the "Mount Heaven's Perfume."


(comment)
White robes are in beautiful contrast with the greenery mountain.
And it gives a fresh feeling.

#1 Emperor Tenchi

Tenchi Tennou

Aki no ta no
Kariho no io no
Toma o arami
Waga koromode wa
Tsuyu ni nure tsutsu


Emperor Tenchi

Coarse the rush-mat roof
Sheltering the harvest-hut
Of the autumn rice-field;
And my sleeves are growing wet
With the moisture dripping through.


(comment)
Sympathy to the farmer's hardship is expressed in the poem.