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- Ise Monogatari
Momotose ni hitotose taranu tsukumogami
ware o kourashi omokage ni miyu
An old woman with tangled white hair—ninety-nine years, one year short of a hundred—seems to be longing for me; I see her as an apparition.
Samushiro ni koromo katashiki koyoi mo ya
koishiki hito ni awade nomi nemu
Spreading a straw mat and laying down one sleeve of my robe, must I again tonight sleep alone without meeting the one I long for?
Fuku kaze ni waga mi o nasaba tamasudare
hima motometsutsu irubeki mono o
If I myself could become the wind that blows everywhere, I would search for a narrow opening in the jeweled blinds and enter where you dwell.
Toritomenu kaze ni wa ari tomo tamasudare
ta ga yurusaba ka hima motomubeki
Though it may be the wind, which cannot be seized or restrained, unless someone gives permission, how could it find a gap in the jeweled blinds?
Omou ni wa shinoburu koto zo makenikeru
au ni shikaeba sa mo araba are
Though I try to restrain my longing, I am overcome and give in; if, when we meet, it must be thus, then so be it—I will accept whatever follows.
Koi seji to Mitarashigawa ni seshi misogi
kami wa ukezu mo narinikeru kana
Though I resolved to love no more and performed a purification at the Mitarashi River, the gods have not accepted my prayer.
Ama no karu mo ni sumu mushi no warekara to
ne o koso nakame yo o ba uramiji
Like the little "self-from" creature that lives in seaweed cut by fishermen, I will cry aloud with my voice; yet I will not hold the world in blame.
Saritomo to omouramu koso kanashikere
aru ni mo aranu mi o shirazu shite
It grieves me to think that he may still believe that someday we might meet again, not knowing the state I am in, living as though scarcely even alive.
Itazura ni yukite wa kinuru mono yue ni
mimaku hoshisa ni iza hanaretsutsu
Though I go to see you only to return in vain, still, moved by the longing to see you, I will set out once again.
Naniwazu o kesa koso mitsu no ura goto ni
kore ya kono yo umi wataru fune
Looking at Naniwa Harbor this morning, I see boats moored at every inlet. Are these the boats that cross the sea as people pass through this weary world?
Kinō kyō kumo no tachimai kakurou wa
hana no hayashi o ushi to narikeri
Yesterday and today the clouds rose and drifted about, hiding the mountain from sight. It must be that they found the woodland, whose treetops were covered with snow like blossoms, too precious to show to others.
Kari nakite kiku no hana saku aki wa aredo
haru no umibe ni Sumiyoshi no hama
Though autumn too is beautiful, when the geese cry and the chrysanthemums bloom, here in spring by the shore of the sea at Sumiyoshi the place seems especially pleasant and peaceful to dwell in.
Kimi ya koshi ware ya yukikemu omooezu
yume ka utsutsu ka nete ka samete ka
Did you come to me, or was it that I went to you? I cannot clearly remember. Was it a dream or reality—something seen in sleep, or something truly experienced while awake?
Kakikurasu kokoro no yami ni madoiniki
yume utsutsu to wa koyoi sadame yo
My heart has grown dark and confused, and I have lost all sense of judgment. Please let it be decided tonight whether it was a dream or waking reality.
Kachibito no wataredo nurenu enishi areba
mata Ausaka no seki wa koenamu
Just as the inlet may be crossed on foot without even wetting one’s hem, so the bond between us is shallow. Yet I will cross the barrier of Ausaka again when I return to the capital, and then we may meet once more.
Mirume karu kata ya izuko zo sao sasete
ware ni oshie yo ama no tsuribune
Where is the inlet where the seaweed called miru may be cut? Row your fishing boat there and show me the place, telling me, "Here it is."