Autumn.
あきふかきもみぢのいろのくれなゐにふりいでてなくしかのこゑかな
| aki fukaki momiji no iro no kurenai ni furi’idete naku shika no koe kana | In autumn’s depths Upon the leaves’ hue So scarlet A clearing wash cries With a stag’s bell! |
Monthly Archives: September 2026
Semimaru-shū 39
KKS XIV: 740
When Middle Counsellor Minamoto no Noboru was Assistant Governor of Ōmi, she composed this and sent it to him.
相坂のゆふつけ鳥にあらばこそ君がゆききをなくなくも見め
| aFusaka no yuFutukedori ni araba koso kimi ga yukiki wo nakunaku mo mime | At Meeting Hill A cockerel Were I to be, even so Your comings and goings Would I weep to see, but… |
[Palace Lady] Kan’in
SIS III: 190
SIS III: 189
Topic unknown.
紅葉せぬときはの山は吹く風のおとにや秋をききわたるらん
| momidisenu tokiFa no yama Fa Fuku kaze no oto ni ya aki wo kikiwataruran | The leaves don’t turn On the mount at Tokiwa Does the gusting wind’s Breath bring Autumn To its ears? |
Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu
An identical poem appears in Kokinshū (V: 251) attributed to Ki no Yoshimochi.
MYS VIII: 1591
黄葉乃 過麻久惜美 思共 遊今夜者 不開毛有奴香
もみちばの すぎまくをしみ おもふどち あそぶこよひは あけずもあらぬか
| momidiba no sugimaku wosimi omopudoti asobu koyopi pa akezu mo aranu ka | The autumn leaves’ Scattered passing, regretting With fine company Enjoying tonight— O, won’t dawn break not? |
The above is a poem by Ōtomo sukune Yakamochi of the Palace Guards.
GSS VI: 280
GSS VI: 279
The flowers before him at the Uda Mansion were particularly beautiful in the morning dew, so he summoned her to show her.
白露のかはるもなにかをしからんありてののちもややうきものを
| siratuyu no kaFaru mo nani ka wosikaran arite no noti mo yaya ukimono wo | What, of the silver dewdrops Changing Might I regret? For even after they have been Somewhat hard will be this world… |
His Majesty, the Priestly Retired Emperor
KKS XVIII: 943
Sen’yōden no nyōgo nadeshiko awase 04
This is a poem which was written on a poetry slip and attached to the diorama when it was presented to the young prince,[i] on the day following the match.
なでしこのはなさきそむる夏の野にけふひぐらしのこゑかきこゆる
| nadeshiko no hana sakisomuru natsu no no ni kyō higurashi no koe ka kikoyuru | The pinks In bloom have begun to be On the summer plains From today the sunset crickets’ Cries do I hear? |
7[ii]
In reply from His Highness, the prince.[iii]
ひぐらしのなくもことわりなでしこのかひあるなつの野べとみゆれば
| higurashi no naku mo kotowari nadeshiko no kai aru natsu no nobe to miyureba | That the sunset crickets Should cry makes sense, for The pinks bring A point to the summer Meadows, or so it seems to me… |
8
A further reply from within the Hall of Cool Purity.
みやぎのにけふさきそむるなでしこはならはぬいろに人やみるらむ
| miyagino ni kyō sakisomuru nadeshiko wa narawanu iro ni hito ya miruramu | On Miyagi Plain Today has begun to bloom A pink— Its extraordinary hue I wonder, will folk see? |
9[iv]
[i] A reference to Imperial Prince Norihira 憲平, the future Emperor Reizei 冷泉 (950-1011; r. 967-969).
[ii] Anonymous (Fubokushō IX: 3461); (Nakatsukasa-shū 120)
[iii] Given that Norihira would have been only six years old when this match was held, it is most likely that this reply was penned in his stead by his mother, Fujiwara no Yasuko (Anshi) 藤原安子 (927-964).
[iv] This poem is included in Fubokushō (IX: 3469) attributed to the ‘Seiryōden Junior Consort’ (Seiryōden nyōgo 清涼殿女御), with the headnote ‘Poetry Match held by Junior Consort Yoshiko (Hōshi) in the Fifth Month, Tenryaku 10’. It is now generally believed that the Fubokushō attribution is erroneous, and this was, instead, composed by Emperor Murakami.