A poem from a poetry competition at Prince Koresada’s house.
秋ののにやどりはすべしをみなへし名をむつまじみたびならなくに
| aki no no ni yadori Fa subesi wominaFesi na wo mutumazimi tabi naranaku ni |
In an autumn meadow I would lodge with The maidenflowers– The name is so appealing- Though I travel not. |
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
Poems by border guards from various provinces sent as relief to Tsukushi in the 7th year of Tempyō-Shōhō [755], Second Month.
畏きや命被り明日ゆりや草がむた寢む妹なしにして
| kasikoki ya mikötö kagapuri asu yuri ya kae ga muta nemu imu nasi ni site |
A fearsome Order I received And from the morrow Will I sleep among the grasses Without my darling girl? |
The above poem is by Mononobe no Akimochi of Lower Naga District, a man of serviceable age in the service of the District Governor.
‘Young/fresh grass’. Used to modify tuma ‘spouse/wife’, nipi ‘new’. Also occasionally wakasi ‘young’, omopituku ‘realise’, etc.
‘Ruling the eight corners’. Used to modify wa ga opokimi/wa go opokimi ‘my great lord/emperor’
‘Many stoned’. Used to modify opomiya ‘great palace’, etc.
‘Warrior’. Used to modify place names such as yaso ‘Yaso’, udigapa ‘Uji River’, etc. Also yuge ‘fletcher’.
‘A flock of birds’. Used to modify mure ‘crowd/group’, tatu ‘rise/depart’.
Marsh (black) snail guts’. Used to modify kagurosi ‘completely black’
‘Buried in winter’. Used to modify paru ‘spring’, paru ‘stick/attach’, etc.
‘Like long haired codium (a type of seaweed)’. Used to modify pukamu ‘be deep’, miru ‘see’, etc.