Round Fifty-One

Left

したにのみおもへばくるし玉のをのたえてみだれん人なとがめそ

shita ni nomi omoeba kurushi tama no o no taete midaren hito na togame so

Simply beneath the surface Lies my passion, so ‘tis painful— My jewelled thread of life Might snap in tangles and Let no one blame me for it![i]

101[ii]

Right

いまはとてねなましものをしぐれつる空ともみえずすめる月かな

ima wa tote nenamashi mono o shiguretsuru sora tomo miezu sumeru tsuki kana

Now, I think, I would to bed, yet The showers that Filled the skies have vanished, and The moon shines so clear!

102[iii]

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[i] A minor variant of this poem, which replaces omeba (feel [passion, so’] with koureba (‘feel love, so’) occurs in Kokinshū (XIII: 677).

[ii] KKRJ V: 3215: Jewelled threads

[iii] SKKS VI: 600: On the conception of the moon in winter after the rain.

Round Fifty

Left

あづまぢのさやの中山中中になにしか人をおもひそめけん

azumaji no saya no nakayama nakanaka ni nani shi ka hito o omoisomekemu

On the road to the Eastlands Nakayama in Saya Lies halfway; half-heartedly Oh, why, this lady Have I begun to love?

99[i]

Right

さびしさにやどをたちいでてながむればいづくもおなじ秋の夕暮

sabishiki ni yado o tachi’idete nagamureba izuku mo onaji aki no yūgure

In my loneliness I leave my home and Gaze about; Everywhere is the same Autumn evening.

100[ii]

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[i] KKS XII: 594: Topic unknown.

[ii] GSIS IV: 333: Topic unknown.

Round Forty-Nine

Left

ゆふさればほたるよりけにもゆれども光みねばや人のつれなき

yū sareba hotaru yori ke ni moyuredomo hikari mineba ya hito no tsurenaki

With the fall of evening, The fireflies’ are as nothing beside My burning, yet I cast no light, so Will my love stay chill?

Ki no Tomonori
97[i]

Right

たづねつる花も我が身もおとろへてのちの春ともえこそちぎらね

tazunetsuru hana mo wa ga mi mo otoroete nochi no haru to mo e koso chigirane

Paying a visit on The blossom, I, too, Am fading fast; That we will meet in springs to come Is not a promise I can make…

Monk Ryōzen
98[ii]

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[i] KKS XII: 562: A poem composed at a competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kampyō emperor.

[ii] SKKS II: 153: When he went to the Unrin’in to view the cherry blossom, it was all scattered with but a single branch left.

Round Forty-Seven

Left

あふさかの木のした露にぬれしよりわが衣手はいつもかわかず

ausaka no ko no shitazuyu ni nureshi yori wa ga koromode wa itsumo kawakazu

Meeting Hill’s Trees drip dewdrops and Have soaked me, so My sleeves Never will be dry.

93[i]

Right

わが恋はあまのかるもにみだれつつかわく間もなきなみのした草

wa ga koi wa ama no karu mo ni midaretsutsu kawaku ma mo naki nami no shitagusa

My love is as The seaweed reaped by fisherfolk: Ever confused, and Dry for not a moment— A grass growing ‘neath the waves.

94[ii]

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[i] GSS XI: 723: When, due to a confidential matter, he became unable to meet with a woman he had finally become able to see, he sent this.

[ii] SZS XIII: 793: Composed as a love poem, when he held a poetry match at his residence, when he was a Middle Captain.