Oh! a single firefly having come, one can see the dew in the garden!
Té no hira wo
Hau ashi miyuru
Hotaru kana!
Oh, this firefly!—as it crawls on the palm of my hand, its legs are visible [by its own light]!
Osoroshi no
Té ni sukitōru,
Hotaru kana!
It is enough to make one afraid! See! the light of this firefly shows through my hand![7]
Sabéshisaya!
Isshaku kiyété
Yuku hotaru!
How uncanny! The firefly shoots to within a foot of me, and—out goes the light!
Yuku saki no
Sawaru mono naki
Hotaru kana!
There goes a firefly! but there is nothing in front of it to take hold of [nothing to touch: what can it be seeking—the ghostly creature?].
Hōki-gi ni
Ari to wa miyété,
Hotaru kana!