Round Twelve

Left

かずならばかからましやは世中にいとかなしきはしづのをだまき

kazu naraba kakaramashi ya yo no naka ni ito kanashiki wa shizu no odamaki

If I were as other folk, then I would not be treated so! In this mundane world A thread of sorrow winds on The bobbin of my sorry lot!

23[i]

Right

あきしのやと山の里やしぐるらんいこまのたけに雲のかかれる

akishino ya toyama no sato ya shigururan ikoma no take ni kumo no kakareru

In Akishino On the houses at the mountain’s hem Showers must be falling, for The mount of Ikoma Is covered o’er with cloud.

24[ii]

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[i] SKKS XV: 1425/1424 When the parents of a woman with whom he had been conversing secretly heard about it and forbade it.

[ii] SKKS VI: 585 Topic unknown.

Round Eleven

Left

おもひきやひなのわかれにおとろへてあまのなはたぎいさりせんとは

omoiki ya hina no wakare ni otoroete ama no nawatagi izarisen to wa

I would not have thought it! Parted, in the boondocks and All at a loss, so As a fisherman, I shall take line in hand And fish away…

21[i]

Right

なげけとて月やは物をおもはするかこちがほなるわがなみだかな

nageke tote tsuki ya wa mono o omowasuru kakochi kao naru wa ga namida kana

What grieves me so – The moon? – when sunk In thought, It is a pretext for My tears, I think!

22[ii]

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[i] KKS XVIII: 961 Composed when he was exiled to Oki.

[ii] SZS XV: 929/926 Composed on the conception of Love before the moon.

Round Ten

Left

わたのはらやそ島かけてこぎ出でぬと人にはつげよあまのつりぶね

wata no hara yasoshima kakete kogiidenu to hito ni wa tsugeyo ama no tsuri bune

Across the wide seascape Toward the myriad isles I am sent rowing Tell that to them, Oh, fisher folk in your boats.

Consultant Ono no Takamura
19[i]

Right

ふりつみし高峰のみゆきとけにけりきよたき河の水のしらなみ

furitsumishi takane no miyuki tokenikeri kiyotakigawa no mizu no shiranami

Deep-fallen upon The peaks, the fair snows Have melted; Kiyotaki River’s Waters run with whitecaps.

Monk Saigyō
20[ii]

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[i] KKS IX: 407: When he was exiled to the province of Oki, he boarded a ship and, on departure, sent this to someone in the capital.

[ii] SKKS I: 27: As a spring poem.

Round Nine

Left

かささぎのわたせるはしにおく霜のしろきをみれば夜ぞふけにける

kasasagi no wataseru hashi ni oku shimo no shiroki o mireba yo zo fukenikeru

On a magpie Crossed bridge Frost lies; Seeing the whiteness Night, indeed, is over.

17[i]

Right

やまぢにてそほちにけりな白露のあかつきおきの木木のしづくに

yamaji nite sōchinikeri na shiratsuyu no akatsuki oki no kigi no shizuku ni

On a mountain path How damp have I become! Silver dewdrops Fall with the dawn In droplets from the trees…

18[ii]

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[i] SKKS VI: 620: Topic unknown.

[ii] SKKS X: 924: For the Hundred Poem Sequences Commemorating the Reign of Former Emperor Horikawa.

Round Eight

Left

神なびのみむろの山のくずかづらうら吹きかへすあきは来にけり

kami nabi no mimuro no yama no kuzukazura urafukikaesu aki wa kinikeri

On the gods’ own Mountain The vine leaves Are blown underside-up: Autumn is here, indeed.

15[i]

Right

なにごとをまつとはなしにあけくれてことしもけふに成りにけるかな

nani goto o matsu to wa nashi ni akekurete kotoshi mo kyō ni narinikeru kana

What have I To wait for? Nothing! So I have passed the days and nights This year and now today Has arrived!

16[ii]

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[i] SKKS IV: 285: Topic unknown.

[ii] KYS IV: 304/323: Composed on the conception of the very end of the year.

Round Seven

真木もくのひばらもいまだくもらぬにこまつがはらにあは雪ぞふる

makimoku no hibara mo imada kumoranu ni komatsu ga hara ni awayuki zo furu

In Makimoku The cypress groves are as yet Unclouded, while Upon the dwarf-pine groves Snow spume is falling!

Middle Counsellor Yakamochi
13[i]

Right

春日のの下もえわたる草のうへにつれなくみゆる春のあはゆき

kasugano no shitamoewataru kusa no ue ni tsurenaku miyuru haru no awayuki

On the plain at Kasuga Sprouting freshly everywhere are Grasses, but atop them Heartlessly, I see The foamy snow of spring!

Middle Counsellor Kunizane
14[ii]

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[i] A variant of this poem occurs in Man’yōshū (X: 2318/2314). A minor variant on this poem is also included in Kokin rokujō (I: 754). A further variant appears in Shinkokinshū (I: 20).

[ii] SKKS I: 10: Composed on the conception of lingering snow, for the Hundred Poem Sequences Commemorating the Reign of Former Emperor Horikawa.