Winter
Round Eleven
Left
霜のうへにふる初雪の朝氷とけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
| shimo no ue ni furu hatsuyuki no asagōri tokemu hodo koso hisashikarikere | Upon the frosts Falls first snow, turning Icy in the morning; The time when it will melt is Far away, indeed. |
20[1]
Right (Win)
いつのまにふりつもりけんみよしのの山のかひよりくづれ落つる雪
| itsu no ma ni furitsumoriken miyoshino no yama no kai yori kuzure’otsuru yuki | All of a sudden Has it fallen and piled high In fair Yoshino The mountain passes are Blocked by fallen snow. |
21
[1] Kokin rokujō I: 696
Round Nine
Left
川ぎりのふもとをこめて立ちぬれば空にぞ秋の山はみえける
| kawagiri no fumoto o komete tachinureba sora ni zo aki no yama wa miekeru | The river mists Around the foothills Have risen, so ‘Tis in the skies that autumn On the mountains is revealed. |
Fukayabu
17
Right
年毎の紅葉ばながす立田川みなとや秋のとまりなるらん
| toshigoto no momijiba nagasu tatsutagawa minato ya aki no tomari naruran | Every single year Scarlet leaves wash down The Tatsuta River; Is it at the mouth that autumn Might find its port? |
18
Round Eight
Left
秋風の吹来る声はやまながらなみ立ちかへるおとぞきこゆる
| akikaze no fukikuru koe wa yama nagara nami tachikaeru oto zo kikoyuru | The autumn breeze’s Cry comes gusting; And in the mountains, The sound of waves washing back and forth Comes to my ears. |
15
Right
すみの江の松を秋風吹くからにこゑうちそふる沖つ白なみ
| suminoe no matsu o akikaze fuku kara ni koe uchisouru oki tsu shiranami | At Suminoe The pines by the autumn breeze Are blown, so The sound lies atop The whitecaps in the offing. |
16
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor
秋山はからくれなゐに成りにけりいくしほしぐれふりてそめけん
| akiyama wa karakurenai ni narinikeri iku shio shigure furite someken | The autumn mountains To Cathay scarlet Have turned; How many dippings with drizzle Have fallen to dye them so? |
Anonymous
Autumn
Round Seven
Left
秋山はからくれなゐに成りにけりいくしほしぐれふりてそめけん
| akiyama wa karakurenai ni narinikeri iku shio shigure furite someken | The autumn mountains To Cathay scarlet Have turned; How many dippings with drizzle Have fallen to dye them so? |
13[1]
Right (Win)
秋きぬとめにはさやかにみえねども風の音にぞおどろかれぬる
| aki kinu to me ni wa sayaka ni mienedomo kaze no oto ni zo odorokarenuru | That autumn has come With my eyes, clearly, I cannot see, yet The sound of the wind Has startled me. |
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 14[2]
[1] Shokugosenshū VII: 429
[2] This poem was particularly highly evaluated and so is included in numerous other anthologies (Kokin rokujō I: 125), exemplary collections (Shinsen waka 2) and senka awase – contests assembled from prior poems (Shunzei sanjū roku nin uta’awase 61; Jidai fudō uta’awase 49).
Round Six
Left
夏山のみねのこずゑのたかければなく郭公こゑかはるかな
| natsuyama no mine no kozue no takakereba naku hototogisu koe kawaru kana | The summer mountain Peaks have treetops So high, that The crying cuckoo’s Calls stand for them. |
11
Right (Win)
おほあらきのもりの下草茂りあひてふかくも夏のなりにけるかな
| ōaraki no mori no shitagusa moriaite fukaku mo natsu no narinikeru kana | In Ōaraki Forest the undergrowth Has grown so thick, that Deep summer is Surely here! |
Mitsune
12
Round Five
Left (Win)
なつの夜のふすかとすればほととぎす鳴く一声に明くるしののめ
| natsu no yo no fusu ka to sureba hototogisu naku hitogoe ni akuru shinonome | On summer nights, I’m wondering whether to go to bed, when A cuckoo’s Single call Brightens the dawn. |
Ki no Tsurayuki
9
Right
郭公をちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみの五月雨の空
| hototogisu ochikaerinake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no sora | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: A summer shower fills the skies. |
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune 10[1]
[1] Shūishū II: 116: For a poetry contest at Sadafun’s house.