Description

Translation of the poems

Earth

Sue no tsuyu     (Dew on the treetops,)
Moto no shizuku ya  (Dripping on the forest floor-)
Yo no naka no  (In the mist of life)
Okuke sakidatsu  (These are emblems of the span)
Tameshi naramu [naruran]    (Between the first and last to go.)

Fire

Au koto no  (If we were to)
Taete shi nakuwa  (never meet again)
Nakanaka ni. (I would not complain
Hito o mo mi o mo (about her)
Urami zaramashi  (or my predicament)

Wind

Aki kinu to (Although the eye)
Me ni wa sayaka ni  (it cannot clearly be seen)
Miebedomo  (that autumn has come,)
Kaze no oto ni zo. (still I fine myself surprised)
Odorokarenuru   (by the whisper of the breeze)

Water

Ura chikaku. (Snow falling)
Furikuru yuki wa  (Near the shore)
Shiranami no  (Looks as if the white waves
Sue no Matsuyama. (Might cover)
Kosuka to zo miru (Pine Mountain of Sue)