Round Thirty

Left

おもひがはたえずながるる水のあわのうたかた人にあはできえめや

omoi kawa taezu nagaruru mizu no awa no utagata hito ni awade kieme ya

For love a river Unending flows; Foam upon the waters Am I yet I’d never perish for not seeing you!

59[i]

Right

冬がれのもりのくちばの霜のうへにおちたる月の影のさむけさ

fuyugare no mori no kuchiba no shimo no ue ni ochitaru tsuki no kage no samukesa

Withered by winter, The forests’ rotting leaves are Frost covered, upon them The fallen moon Light is cold, indeed.[ii]

60[iii]

---

[i] GSS IX: 515/516: When he didn’t know where she had gone, a man who wanted to get to know her again sent to her saying, ‘I’ve been worriedly enquiring about you for days-I thought you were dead!’

[ii] This poem is an allusive variation on a variant of KKS IV: 184, which appears in some Kokinshū manuscripts: Topic unknown. このまよりおちたる月の影見れば心づくしの秋はきにけり ko no ma yori / ochitaru tsuki no / kage mireba / kokorozukushi no / aki wa kinikeri ‘Between the trees / Dropped moon / Light, seeing it I know / Heart draining / Autumn, has come at last.’ Anonymous.

[iii] SKKS VI: 607: Topic unknown.

Round Twenty-Nine

Left

三輪のやまいかにまちみむとしふともたづぬる人もあらじとおもへば

miwa no yama ika ni machimimu toshi fu tomo tadunuru hito mo araji to omoeba

On the mount of Miwa Why should I wait? Years may pass, yet Would you come enquiring- I think not!

57[i]

Right

今よりはふけ行くまでに月はみじそのこととなく涙おちけり

ima yori wa fukeyuku made ni tsuki wa miji sono koto to naku namida ochikeri

From now Until the break of dawn I shall not look upon the moon; For no particular reason My tears are falling.

58[ii]

---

[i] KKS XV: 780: When Lord [Fujiwara no] Nakahira, whom she had known and been meeting for some time, became more distant towards her, she decided to go to her father, the Governor of Yamato, and, composing this, sent it to Nakahira.

[ii] SZS XV: 994/991: Composed when he composed ten poems about the moon.

Round Twenty-Eight

Left

あひにあひて物おもふころの我が袖にやどる月さへぬるるがほなる

ai ni aite mono’omou koro no wa ga sode ni yadoru tsuki sae nururu kFo naru

So many times have we met; In gloomy thought Upon my sleeves Where rests the moon Even her face wet with tears.

Ise

55[i]

Right

たつたひめかざしのたまのををよわみみだれにけりとみゆるしらつゆ

tatsutahime kazashi no tama no o o yowami midarenikeri to miyuru shiratsuyu

Princess Tatsuta’s Jewelled hairpin Has threads so frail that Confused do Appear the silver dewdrops.

Lord Fujiwara no Kiyosuke

56[ii]

---

[i] KKS XV: 756: Topic unknown.

[ii] SZS IV: 265/264: Composed when he presented a Hundred Poem Sequence to former Emperor Sutoku.

Round Twenty-Seven

Left

あけぬとてかへるみちにはこきたれてあめもなみだもふりそほちつつ

akenu tote kaeru michi ni wa kokitarete ame mo namida mo furisōchitsutsu

‘Tis the break of day, and On the road back home Descending sheets of Rain, and my tears, too Soak me to the skin…

53[i]

Right

なにとなくきけば涙ぞこぼれけるこけのたもとにかよふ松かぜ

nani to naku kikeba namida zo koborekeru koke no tamoto ni kayou matsukaze

For some reason When I hear it, my tears Overflow Over my sleeves of moss Brushes the pine-touched wind.

54[ii]

---

[i] KKS XIII: 639: A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor. Also KKRJ V: 2732.

[ii] SKKS XVIII: 1795/94: On the wind in the pines, for the Poetry Match at the Kasuga Shrine.

Round Twenty-Six

Left

あきはぎの花さきにけり高砂のをのへのしかも今やなくらん

aki hagi no hana sakinikeri takasago no onoe no shika wa ima ya nakuran

The Autumn bush clover Blooms are in flower: At Takasago’s Peak, are the deer Calling even now?

51[i]

Right

おぼつかなみやこにすまぬ宮こどりこととふ人にいかがこたへし

obotsukana miyako ni sumanu miyakodori koto tou hito ni ikaga kotaeshi

How strange it is that In the capital lives not The capital bird— To he who enquired of it How did it reply?[ii]

52[iii]

---

[i] KKS IV: 218: Composed for the Poetry Competition at Prince Koresada’s House.

[ii] An allusive variation on KKS IX: 411.

[iii] SKKS X: 977: From the Poetry Contest in One Thousand Five Hundred Rounds.