A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
秋のよのあまてる月の光にはおく白露を玉とこそ見れ
| aki no yo no ama teru tsuki no hikari ni wa oku shiratsuyu o tama to koso mire | On an autumn night The heaven-shining moon’s Light upon The fallen silver dewdrops Truly, makes them seem as jewels. |
Anonymous
A further poem, from the same gentleman.
つらさには思ひ絶えなんとおもへどもかなはぬ物はなみだなりけり
| tsurasa ni wa omoi’oenan to omoedomo kanawanu mono wa namida narikeri | Your cruelty You might wish to cease, I thought, yet Entirely matchless are My tears. |
The Consultant
11
In reply.
うけひかぬあまの小船のつなで縄たゆとて何か苦しかるらん
| ukehikanu ama no obune no tsunade nawa tayu tote nanika kurushikaruran | You’ll not draw in A fisher-girl’s skiff with A rope that’s Snapped, I think, and what Might be painful about that? |
Higo, from the Palace
12
ながれ出づるしづくに袖は朽ちはてておそふる方もなきぞかなしき
| nagare’izuru shizuku ni sode wa kuchihatete osouru kata mo naki zo kanashiki | Flowing out These droplets my sleeves Have completely rotted, and That I have no way to halt them Makes me sad, indeed. |
The Major Controller of the Left
7
おく網のうけもひかれぬものゆゑに何かはあまの袖のくつらん
| oku tsuna no uke mo hikarenu mono yue ni nani ka wa ama no sode no kutsuran | Cast out, your line’s Floats, she’ll not draw in, So Why would a fisher-girl Have rotten sleeves, I wonder? |
Yurika, from the Hall of the Junior Consort
8
Composed gazing at the moon.
あまの原そらさへさえや渡るらん氷と見ゆる冬の夜の月
| ama no Fara sora saFe sae ya wataruran koFori to miyuru Fuyu no yo no tuki | The plain of Heaven, The sky, so coldly Does it seem to cross, Ice, it does appear, The moon upon a winter’s night. |
Egyō
Composed on the conception of the evening of the year by the sea, at the residence of the Tsuchimikado Palace Minister.
ゆくとしをゝじまのあまのぬれ衣かさねて袖になみやかくらん
| yuku toshi o ojima no ama no nuregoromo kasnete sode ni nami ya kakuran | The parting year covers me with Regret, as at Ojima the fisherfolk’s Drenched robes are Laid atop each other, with sleeves Still washed by waves, it seems… |
Fujiwara no Ari’ie
Seafolk 泉郎
夜とともにもしほたれつつすまのあまの心づからや袖ぬらすらん
| yo to tomo ni moshio taretsutsu suma no ama no kokorozukara ya sode nurasuran | Every night Wringing brine from seaweed Do the seafolk at Suma From their own hearts Drench their sleeves, I wonder? |
Daishin
Seafolk 泉郎
かのきしにわたりつきぬるあまを舟いかにのりえてうれしかるらん
| kano kishi ni wataritsukinuru ama o fune ika ni noriete ureshikaruran | To yonder shore Have crossed The fisher-folk; their boats— How might I board them, and Feel the selfsame joy? |
Higo
Seafolk 泉郎
ふかながら海のこころやいかならんうらみぬあまはなしとこそきけ
| fukanagara umi no kokoro ya ika naran uraminu ama wa nashi to koso kike | It may have depths, but The heart of the sea is What sort of thing, I wonder? An unresentful fisherman Is nowhere to be found, I hear! |
Tadafusa
Seafolk 泉郎
ひく島のあまのうけ舟波まよりかうてふさすとゆふしでをかく
| hikushima no ama no ukebune namima yori kau chō sasu to yūshide o kaku | At Hikushima The fisher-folks’ buoy-boats From between the breakers Point the way today, like A painting of a sacred garland. |
Toshiyori
Seafolk 泉郎
おほいそにあさな夕なにかづきするあまも我がごとそでやぬるらん
| ōiso ni asana yūna ni kazukisuru ama mo wa ga goto sode ya nururan | At Ōiso Every morn and evening, too, Diving do The fisher-girls, just as I, Have soaking sleeves, I wonder? |
Nakazane