Round One Hundred and Forty-Eight

Left

くらきよりくらき道にぞ入りぬべきはるかにてらせ山のはの月

kuraki yori kuraki michi ni zo irinubeki haruka ni terase yama no ha no tsuki

From darkening On a shadowed path I must make my way; Let it faintly shine, The moon upon the mountain’s edge.

Izumi Shikibu

295[1]

Right

色かへぬ竹の葉しろく月さえてつもらぬ雪をはらふ秋かぜ

iro kaenu take no ha shiroku tsuki saete tsumoranu yuki o harau akikaze

The unchanging hue of The bamboo leaves turns white Beneath the chilly moon— Snow that never drifts With the brush of autumn breezes.

Kunaikyō

296[2]

---

[1] Shūishū XX: 1342: Composed and sent to the Monk Shoku.

[2] Shinsenzaishū IV: 416: On the wind in the bamboo before the moon.

Round One Hundred and Fifty

Left

物おもへばさはのほたるも我が身よりあくがれいづるたまかとぞみる

mono’omoeba sawa no hotaru mo wa ga mi yori akugare izuru tama ka to zo miru

I’m at such a loss; Fireflies by the marsh: From my breast Wanders out My soul, or so it seems.

299[1]

Right

からにしき秋のかたみやたつ田川ちりあへぬ枝にあらし吹くなり

karanishiki aki no katami ya tatsuta yama chiriaenu eda ni arashi fuku nari

O, Cathay brocade: Are you autumn’s keepsake? On the mount of Tatsuta Through the few remaining leaves The storm comes blowing.

300[2]

---

[1] Goshūishū XX: 1162: When she had been forgotten by a man, she went to Kibune, and composed this on seeing fireflies flitting about by the Mitarashi River.

[2] Shinkokinshū VI: 566: From when she presented a fifty-poem sequence.

Round One Hundred and Forty-Nine

Left

もろともにこけのしたにはくちずしてうづもれぬ名を聞くぞかなしき

morotomo ni koke no shita ni wa kuchizushite uzumorenu na o kiku zo kanashiki

With her Beneath the moss It perishes not— Of high renown, her name: To see it is a bitter grief.

297[1]

Right

霜をまつまがきの菊のよひの間におきまよふ色は山のはの月

shimo o matsu magaki no kiku no yoi no ma ni okimayou iro wa yama no ha no tsuki

Awaiting the frost By my lattice fence, the chrysanthemums In the midst of night Are draped in puzzling hues By the moon from off the mountains’ edge.

298[2]

---

[1] Kin’yōshū X: 612 (3): After the Koshikibu Handmaid had died, Izumi Shikibu had several robes which Empress Akiko had given her daughter over the years as keepsakes; when she saw notes she had made with Koshikibu, she composed.

[2] Shinkokinshū V: 507: On the conception of chrysanthemums under the moon by a lattice fence, when she presented a hundred poem sequence.

Round One Hundred and Forty-Eight

Left

くらきよりくらき道にぞ入りぬべきはるかにてらせ山のはの月

kuraki yori kuraki michi ni zo irinubeki haruka ni terase yama no ha no tsuki

From darkening On a shadowed path I must make my way; Let it faintly shine, The moon upon the mountain’s edge.

Izumi Shikibu
295[1]

Right

色かへぬ竹の葉しろく月さえてつもらぬ雪をはらふ秋かぜ

iro kaenu take no ha shiroku tsuki saete tsumoranu yuki o harau akikaze

The unchanging hue of The bamboo leaves turns white Beneath the chilly moon— Snow that never drifts With the brush of autumn breezes.

Kunaikyō
296[2]

---

[1] Shūishū XX: 1342: Composed and sent to the Monk Shoku.

[2] Shinsenzaishū IV: 416: On the wind in the bamboo before the moon.

Round One Hundred and Forty-Seven

Left

うつろはでしばししのだの森を見よかへりもぞするくずのうらかぜ

utsurowade shibashi shinoda no mori o miyo kaeri mo zo suru kuzu no ura kaze

Turn not! And For a while on Shinoda Forest rest your gaze! For it may return again: The breeze ‘neath the arrowroot leaves.

293[1]

Right

きえぬべき露の我が身の置所いづれの野べの草葉なるらん

kienubeki tsuyu no wa ga mi no okidokoro izure no nobe no kusaba naruran

Surely to vanish As the dewdrops is my lot, and The place I fall Will be in some meadow Among the blades of grass, no doubt…

294[2]

---

[1] Shinkokinshū XVIII: 1820: After Izumi Shikibu had been abandoned by Michisada, Akazome Emon heard that almost immediately Prince Atsumichi had begun to visit her, and sent her this.

[2] Shokukokinshū XV: 1422: Topic unknown.

Round One Hundred and Forty-Six

Left

つねよりもまたぬれそひし袂かなむかしをかけて落ちし涙に

tsune yori mo mata nuresoishi tamoto kana mukashi o kakete ochishi namida ni

More than ever, Soaked through are My sleeves! For bygone days I stored up The tears I let fall now…

291[1]

Right

いまはとてみざらん秋の空までもおもへばかなし夜半の月かげ

ima wa tote mizaran aki no sora made mo omoeba kanashi yowa no tsukikage

Now, it is, I think, that Unable to see even the autumn Skies, I am filled with sadness by The midnight moonlight.

292[2]

---

[1] Senzaishū IX: 566: When she was in attendance on Empress Akiko, Her Majesty’s mien was that of recollecting a certain situation with His Majesty, Former Emperor Ichijō, so she presented this one morning, after she had withdrawn from Her Majesty’s presence.

[2] Shinchokusenshū XVI: 1090: Topic unknown.

Round One Hundred and Forty-Five

Left

神無月あり明のつきのしぐるるを又われならぬ人やみるらん

kaminazuki ariake no tsuki o shigururu o mata ware naranu hito ya miruran

In the Godless Month The moon at dawn shines Through the showers— Other than I, I wonder if he sees it, too?

Akazome Emon
289[1]

Right

花もまたわかれん春はおもひ出でよさきちるたびの心づくしを

hana mo mata wakaren haru wa omoi’ideyo saki chiru tabi no kokorozukushi o

O, blossom, will you, too, When we are parted by spring’s end Remember me! For when you bloom and scatter How desolate I am…

Inpumon’in no Taiyu
290[2]

---

[1] Shikashū IX: 324: When she had something on her mind and was unable to sleep, she sat awake all night gazing at the bright moon until dawn, and composed this when her garden became slightly darkened by a shower.

[2] Shinkokinshū II: 143: Composed as a poem on blossom. Also: Inpumon’in no taiyu-shū 22.

Round One Hundred and Forty-Four

Left

あふことはこれやかぎりの旅ならん草のまくらも霜がれにけり

au koto wa kore ya kagiri no tabi naran kusa no makura mo shimogarenikeri

Will our meeting Here be the limit of Our journey? Our grassy pillow Seared by distant frosts…

287[1]

Right

おひかぜに八重のしほぢをこぐ舟のほのかにだにもあひみてしかな

oikaze ni yae no shioji o kogu fune no honoka ni dani mo aimiteshi kana

The pursuing wind Tracks ‘cross eightfold tidal paths To reach the boat a’rowing out, Its sails, so distant, but Even a glimpse of you would do!

288[2]

---

[1] Shinkokinshū XIII: 1209: Major Captain of the Left Asamitsu had not visited her for a long time, when he came to see her on her travels; having no pillow, they wove one out of grass.

[2] Shinkokinshū XI: 1072: When His Majesty’s gentlemen were composing poems on love and the wind, during the reign of former emperor Toba.

Round One Hundred and Forty-Three

Left

いかなればしらぬにおふるうきぬなはくるしや心人しれずのみ

ika nareba shiranu ni ouru uki nunawa kurushi ya kokoro hito shirezu nomi

Why is that All unnoticed grows A floating water shield? How pained is a heart That no one knows at all…

285[1]

Right

たちかへる人をもなにかうらみまし恋しさをだにとどめざりせば

tachikaeru hito o mo nani ka uramimashi koishisa o dani todomezariseba

If he rises to return Why should he Be the object of my despite? If even his love He does not leave behind…

286[2]

---

[1] Goshūishū XI: 606: Topic unknown.

[2] Senzaishū XIV: 852: Composed on the conception of love which fails to linger, when he composed ten love poems at the same residence.

Round One Hundred and Forty-One

Left

ねざめしてたれかきくらん此比の木葉にかかる夜半のしぐれを

nezameshite tare ka kikuran kono koro no ko no ha ni kakaru yowa no shigure o

Starting from sleep Who else might be listening, I wonder, At such a time To the rustling leaves In a midnight shower?

The Uma Handmaid
283[1]

Right

たちかへりまたやとはまし山かぜに花ちる里の人のこころを

tachikaeri mata ya towamashi yamakaze ni hana chiru sato no hito no kokoro o

Rising and returning Only to once more pay a curious call: The breeze from off the mountains Scattering blossom round the estate Where lies my lady’s heart…

Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Morotoki
284[2]

---

[1] Senzaishū VI: 402: Topic unknown.

[2] Shinchokusenshū II: 82: Composed on a day during the reign of former Emperor Horikawa when the ladies of the court went to visit the blossom in the Eastern hills.