Insects
Left (Tie)
あきくればむしもやものをおもふらんこゑもをしまずねをもなくかな
| aki kureba mushi mo ya mono o omouran koe mo oshimazu ne mo naku kana | When the autumn comes, Do the insects, too, have gloomy Thoughts, I wonder? I’ll not regret their song at all As they cry on! |
His Majesty
11
Right
あきごとにとこめづらなるすずむしのふりてもふりぬこゑぞきこゆる
| akigoto ni tokomezuranaru suzumushi no furite mo furinu koe zo kikoyuru | Each and every autumn, Afresh The bell-crickets’ Aging in their aged Cries I hear. |
Lord Kintō
12
Geese
Left (Win)
わがせこがたびのころもをうちはへてまつかりがねのいまもなかなむ
| wa ga seko ga tabi no koromo o uchihaete matsu kari ga ne no ima mo nakanamu | My darling man’s Journey garb I will spread out, for The long-awaited goose cries Are now sounding out. |
Korenari
9
Right
わぎもこがかけてまつらんたまづさとかきつらねたるはつかりのこゑ
| wagimoko ga kakete matsuran tamazusa to kakitsuranetaru hatsu kari no koe | My darling girl Does ever seem to wait! Jewelled missives Written with The first goose calls… |
10
Dew
Left (Tie)
をぎのはにおけるしらつゆたまかとてそでにつつめどとまらざりけり
| ogi no ha ni okeru shiratsuyu tama ka to te sode ni tsutsumedo tomarazarikeri | On the blades of silver grass Drop silven dewdrops; Wondering if they’re jewels I wrapped them in my sleeves, yet Could not make them stay. |
His Majesty
7
Right
いかにしてたまにもぬかむゆふさればをぎのはわけにむすぶしら露
| ika ni shite tama ni mo nukamu yū sareba ogi no hawake ni musubu shiratsuyu | Somehow With gemstones they seem strung; When evening comes Each and every blade of silver grass Is bound with silven dewdrops. |
Nagayoshi
8
Fields
Left
いつしかもゆきてはやみむあきのののはなのしたひもとけはてぬらん
| itsu shika mo yukite wa yamimu aki no no no hana no shitahimo tokehatenuran | Swiftly Shall I halt my travels In an autumn meadow; A blossom’s underbelt Seems completely undone. |
Korenari
5
Right (Win)
かりにとやいもはまつらんあきのののはなみるほどはいへぢわすれぬ
| kari ni to ya imo wa matsuran aki no no no hana miru hodo wa ieji wasurenu | Is it but briefly that My sweetheart should wait? In an autumn meadow While gazing at the flowers The way home I have quite forgot! |
Nagayoshi
6
Wind
Left (Win)
おはらきのもりのくずはもふくかぜにもみぢもあへずちりやしぬらん
| oharaki no mori no kuzuha mo fuku kaze ni momiji mo aezu chiri ya shinuran | In Oharaki Among the groves, will the kudzu leaves, When the wind does blow Parting from the scarlet leaves Scatter, too, I wonder? |
Tamemasa
3
Right
みかきののくさこそなびけよろづよのはじめのあきのかぜのこゑかも
| mikaki no no kusa koso nabike yorozu yo no hajime no aki no kaze no koe kamo | In the fields by the sacred walls The grasses do sway; Ten thousand generations’ First autumn Breeze sounds out! |
Nagayoshi
4
On the tenth day of the Eighth Month, Kanna 1,[1] His Majesty[2] entered the Courtiers’ Hall briefly and divided the gentlemen in attendance into teams for a poetry contest. His Majesty’s partner was Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Kintō, and he provided of the four topics. Judgements were by Koreshige.
Moon
Left (Win)
あきのよのつきにこころはあくがれてくもゐにものをおもふころかな
| aki no yo no tsuki ni kokoro wa akugarete kumoi ni mono o omou koro kana | On an autumn night By the moon is my heart Entranced; Things beyond the clouds Fill my thoughts a while! |
His Majesty
1
Right
いつもみるつきぞとおもへどあきのよはいかなるかげをそふるなるらん
| itsumo miru tsuki zo to omoe aki no yo wa ikanaru kage o souru naruran | Every time I see The moon it fills my thoughts, but On an autumn night What light is it that Does seem to cover all? |
Lord Kintō
2
[1] 28.8.985
[2] Emperor Kazan 花山 (968-1008; r. 984-986).
At a time when he produced a Hundred Poem Sequence, His Majesty composed this as a poem on orange blossoms.
五月雨にはなたちばなのかをる夜は月すむ秋もさもあらばあれ
| samidare ni hanatachibana no kaoru yo wa tsuki sumu aki mo sa mo araba are | Early summer showers fall, and Orange blossom Scents the night; The clear, bright moon of autumn Hardly seems to match it… |
Emperor Sutoku
Composed on the conception of a pillow scented with orange blossom.
をりしもあれ花たちばなのかをるかなむかしをみつる夢の枕に
| orishi mo are hanatachibana no kaoru kana mukashi o mitsuru yume no makura ni | In days gone by and yet now still Orange blossoms Do I scent! A love long gone I glimpse when Dreaming on my pillow. |
Fujiwara no Kinhira