In this world
what can I point to
and call my home?
Home is wherever
I rest my feet.
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
Month: April 2014
anonymous tanka 4 from The Kokinshu
What is constant
in this world of ours?
Yesterday’s deeps
in the Asuka River
today have turned to shallows
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 3 from the Kokinshu
If a seed is there
the pine will sprout
even among boulders;
if I love and keep on loving,
can we fail to meet?
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 2 from The Kokinshu
How often I think of it!
that boat in the morning mist
of Akashi Bay,
moving dimly dimly
out of sight beyond the islands
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 1 from The Kokinshu
Cheery flowers,
the image of
our fleeting world–
no sooner have they opened
than they begin to fall
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
To a lady glimpsed in a carriage by Ariwara No Narihira
Seen, and yet not seen–
that such a one could be
so longed for–
today I spent the whole day
hopelessly gazing
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
Ariwara No Narihira on aging
In the end I find
I take no pleasure in the moon–
these very moons,
when they pile up,
are what brings us to old age!
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
knocking on wood
an old habit
when things seem
to be going
as planned
and life smiles
on your wary heart
even the cat
sensitive to these things
notices change
in the air
Ariwara No Narihira on cherry blossoms
If there were no such thing
as cherry blossoms
in this world,
in springtime how untroubled
our hearts would be!
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
untitled poem 4 by Ono No Komachi
The flower’s color has passed,
I gazed on it in vain,
while trying to live my life.
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
Leonard Durso 