Toshio Mae monument gravestone engraved with Tanka
translated by: John Lamb & Naoko Lamb
朴の花たかだかと咲くまひるまをみなかみにさびし高見の山は
『霊異記』東吉野村歌碑
noon time
flowers of Hackberry
blooming high
above the river’s upper reach
a lonely Mt. Takami
水底に赤岩敷ける恋ほしめば丹生川上に注ぎゆく
『霊異記』黒滝村歌碑
red rock spread
across the river’s bed
a pang of love
welling up sacred waters
of Nifu-kawakami (high up Nifu River)
さくら咲くゆふべの空のみづいろのくらくなるまで人をおもへり
『青童子』吉野金峰山寺歌碑
that evening
until the pale blue sky
grew dark
above the cherry blossom
I thought of her