Round Five

Left

ももしきの大宮人はいとまあれやさくらかざしてけふもくらしつ

momoshiki no ōmiyabito wa itoma are ya sakura kazashite kyō mo kurashitsu

The hundredfold Palace folk have Leisure time, indeed: Arranging cherry blossoms, Have they spent this day!

9[i]

Right

おもひかねそなたの空をながむればただ山のはにかかるしら雲

omoikane sonata no sora o nagamureba tada yama no ha ni kakaru shirakumo

Unbearable is my heart’s pain— Upon the distant skies I gaze, but Simply upon the mountains’ edge Cling clouds of white.[ii]

10[iii]

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[i] SKKS II: 104: Topic unknown.

[ii] An allusive variation on Rinkashū 205).

[iii] SKS X: 381/379: Composed and sent to Master of the Right Capital Office Akisuke when he was Governor of Ōmi, to remark on his travelling to a distant district.

Round Four

Left

あすからはわかなつまんとしめし野にきのふもけふもゆきはふりつつ

asu kara wa wakana tsuman to shimeshi no ni kinō mo kyō mo yuki wa furitsutsu

From the morrow I thought to pick fresh herbs, but Upon my roped off meadow Yesterday and today, too, The snow is ever falling…

Yamabe no Akahito
7[i]

Right

さざなみや国つみかみのうらさびてふるき宮こに月ひとりすむ

sazanami ya kunitsumikami no urasabite furuki miyako ni tsuki hitori sumu

Wavelets have washed The guardian god Chilling his heart, for At the ancient capital The solitary moon shines clear.

The Hosshōji Lay Priest and Former Chancellor and Palace Minister
8[ii]

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[i] SKKS I: 11: Topic unknown. Minor variants of this poem also occur in Man’yōshū (VIII: 1427) and Kokin rokujō (I: 43).

[ii] SZS XVI: 981/978 Composed when he composed a large number of poems about the moon.

Round Three

Left

をとめ子が袖ふるやまの水がきのひさしきよよりおもひそめてき

otomego ga sode furu yama no mizugaki no hisashiki yo yori omoisometeki

Maidens, Sleeves waving at Furu Mountain’s Sacred walls, have there Ever been; as long Has love stained my heart.

5[i]

Right

おきつかぜふきにけらしな住吉の松のしづえをあらふしらなみ

okitsukaze fukinikerashi na sumiyoshi no matsu no shizue o arau shiranami

The wind in the offing Is gusting, it seems, for At Sumiyoshi The pines’ low branches Are washed by whitecaps.

6[ii]

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[i] SIS XIX: 1210: Topic unknown.

[ii] GSIS XVIII: 1063/64:  Composed on the instructions of His Majesty, on the way back from Sumiyoshi, when he had accompanied him there in the Third Month, Enkyū 5 [April 1073].

Round Two

Left

あし引の山どりのをのしだりをのながながし夜をひとりかもねん

ashihiki no yamadori no o no shidario no naganagashi yo o hitori kamo nemu

Leg-wearying The mountain pheasant’s tail Hangs down So long, so long, the night Must I sleep alone?

3[i]

Right

君が世はつきじとぞおもふかみかぜやみもすそ川のすまむかぎりは

kimi ga yo wa tsukiji to zo omou kamikaze ya mimosusogawa no sumamu kagiri wa

My Lord’s reign Shall never end, I feel! While beneath the divine winds The Mimosuso River[ii] Is clear!

4[iii]

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[i] SIS XIII: 778: Topic unknown. Also Ogura hyakunin isshu 3.

[ii] The Mimosuso River (mimosugawa 御裳濯川) is the name given to the Isuzu River (isuzugawa 五十鈴川) as it flows past the Grand Shrine of Ise, which is dedicated to the ancestral deity of the imperial house, Amaterasu ōmikami 天照大神.

[iii] GSIS VII: 450: Composed for the Palace Poetry Match in Shōryaku 2 [1078].