Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
きりぎりす
Fujiwara no Yoshitsune · 後京極摂政前太政大臣
きりぎりす
なくや霜夜の
さむしろに
衣かたしき
獨りかも寝む
Historical kana
きりぎりす
なくやしもよの
さむしろに
ころもかたしき
ひとりかもねむ
Original English translation
Crickets cry on this frosty night; on a chilly reed mat, with only my own robe spread, must I sleep alone?
History and context
Yoshitsune, a court regent, is named by his Go-Kyōgoku title; he is not the warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune. The Shinkokinshū poem uses a sparse sleeping scene to intensify autumn solitude.
Imagery and wordplay
Samushiro joins a reed mat with the sense of cold. The single spread robe indicates the absence of a companion.
Shinkokinshū · 新古今集秋下518
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.