Composed on the conception of being buried in frosty fallen leaves.
落ちつもる庭の木の葉を夜のほどにはらひてけりと見する朝霜
| otitumoru niwa no ko no Fa wo yo no hodo ni FaraFitekeri to misuru asasimo | Fallen, piled high at My estate, the leaves from the trees Within the space of a single night Have been swept away, It seems, by the morning frost. |
Anonymous
Autumn
Left
秋の夜の有明にみれど久堅の月のかつらはうつろはぬかな
| aki no yo no ariake ni miredo hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa utsurouwanu kana | An autumn night’s Dawn I see, yet The eternal Moon’s silver trees Show no sign of fading! |
13
秋萩の花咲く比の白露は下ばのためとわきて置くべし
| aki hagi no hana saku koro no shiratsuyu wa shitaba no tame to wakite okubeshi | In autumn, the bush clover Flowers bloom—just then Silver dewdrops For the under-leaves Do fall, marking every one. |
14
秋風はいなばもそよとふきつめりかりみる程と成りやしぬらん
| akikaze wa inaba mo soyo to fukitsumeri kari miru hodo to nari ya shinuran | The autumn breeze Seems to rustle the rice stalks As it blows; Seeing if ‘tis time to reap them— Is that what it is, I wonder? |
15
Right
銀河とわたる舟は花薄ほにいづるほどぞかげもみゆべき
| ama no kawa towataru fune wa hanasusuki ho ni izuru hodo zo kage mo miyubeki | Across the River of Heaven A boat goes ferrying: When the silver grass Ears burst into bloom, Can its shape be seen. |
16
女郎花さがの花をば色ながら秋をさかりといはれずもがな
| ominaeshi saga no hana oba iro nagara aki o sakari to iwarezu mogana | Maidenflowers: Blossoms from Saga Reveal their hues, and In autumn are most fine—that Goes without saying! |
17
小男鹿の朝たつ霧にうりふ山嶺の梢は色こかりけり
| saoshika no asa tatsu kiri ni urifuyama mine no kozue wa iro kokarikeri | Stags Within the rising morning mist on Urifu Moutain, where The treetops on the peak Have taken darker hues. |
18
音羽山秋としなれば唐錦かけたることも見ゆる紅葉か
| otowayama aki to shi nareba karanishiki kaketaru koto mo miyuru momiji ka | On Otowa Mountain When autumn comes Cathay brocade Is hung about – Seem so the scarlet leaves? |
5
女郎花何の心になけれども秋はさくべきこともゆゆしく
| ominaeshi nani no kokoro ni nakeredomo aki wa sakubeki koto mo yuyushiku | O, maidenflowers, Something within my heart Is lacking, yet That you must bloom in autumn Is a fine thing, indeed! |
6
Monkeys 猿
あさまだきならのかれ葉をそよそよと外山をいでてましら鳴くなり
| asa madaki nara no kareba o soyosoyo to toyama o idete mashira nakunari | ‘Tis not yet morn, but The withered oak leaves Rustle, as To the distant mountains go The monkeys hooting. |
Akinaka
Old Folk 老人
あさなあさなみれどむかしのかげならで日にそへおいのますかがみかな
| asana asana miredo mukashi no kage narade hi ni soe oi no masukagami kana | Each morn I look, yet yesterday’s Face fails to appear, and With each passing day, old age Is clear within my mirror! |
Tadafusa
Dwarf Bamboo 小篠
あさまだきをざさが原を分けゆけば露けぎ袖を人やとがめん
| asa madaki ozasa ga hara o wakeyukeba tsuyukeki sode o hito ya togamen | Just before the break of dawn Through a grove of dwarf bamboo Do I forge my way, so Will my dew-drenched sleeves By folk be condemned? |
Daishin
Dwarf Bamboo 小篠
あさタに露のしら玉みるものをいたくなかりそ岡のささはら
| asa yū ni tsuyu no shiratama miru mono o itaku na kari so oka no sasawara | Morning and evening both Upon white gemlet dewdrops Do I gaze – O, reap not The dwarf bamboo groves on the hillside! |
Akinaka
Love Separated by Distant Roads 隔遠路恋
はるばるとおもひやれどもあさゆふにゆかぬ心のくるしきやなぞ
| harubaru to omoiyaredomo asa yū ni yukanu kokoro no kurushiki ya nazo | On the distance far Do dwell my pondering thoughts, so Why, morning and evening, too, Does my heart, held here, Feel such pain? |
Tadafusa
Left
朝夕にみ山に通ふ賤だにも歎きはこらぬ物とこそ聞け
| asa yū ni miyama ni kayou shizu dani mo nageki wa koranu mono to koso kike | Morning and evening, Travelling to the mountain deeps and back, Even the woodsmen Will not fell the tree of grief, Or so I hear… |
Lord Kanemune
1181
Right (Win)
賤の男よ思ひはわれもこりぬべしをのが苦しき妻木ならねど
| shizu no o yo omoi wa ware mo korinubeshi ono ga kurushiki tsumaki naranedo | O, woodsman! I, too, in fires of passion Must burn on; My longing for my love, your axe To kindling will not hew, and yet… |
Nobusada
1182
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to indicate. The Left state: the Right’s poem sounds like it is chopping kindling that the woodsman will do no more.
In judgement: ‘Travelling to the mountain deeps and back, the woodsmen’ (miyama ni kayou shizu) should ‘fell the tree of grief’ (nageki o koru), but in the poem they ‘do not fell’ (koranu) it – I wonder how appropriate this is. This conception seems to be one not relating to grief, but simply to tree-felling. ‘I, too, in fires of passion must burn on’ (omoi wa ware mo korinubeshi) seems somewhat difficult to interpret, but I must say that the configuration of the final section is superb.
Composed when there was much disturbance in the world.
朝な朝な鹿の柵む萩がえの末葉の露のありがたのよや
| asana asana sika no sikaramu Fagi ga e no suweba no tuyu no arigata no yo ya |
Every morning The stag is tangled in Bush clover branches, Dew upon the leaf-tips – Such is the length of life… |
Zōki
増基