In this video I discuss the emotions conveyed in the Eikyū hyakushu poems on the topic of ‘Autumn Nights’.
Tag Archives: autumn nights
Eikyū hyakushu 259
Autumn Nights 秋夜
虫の音もちぢにみたるる秋の夜のあはれをいかがいひつくすべき
| mushi no ne mo chji ni midaruru aki no yo no aware o ikaga iitsukusubeki | The insects’ cries are Innumerable in their confusion; On an autumn night How moving they are, Grown hoarse with exhaustion. |
Daishin
Eikyū hyakushu 258
Autumn Nights 秋夜
秋の夜をあけがたしとはひとりぬるの旅の空にぞ思ひしらるる
| aki no yo o akegatashi to wa hitori nuru tabi no mado ni zo omoishiraruru | An autumn night Has no dawn, they say; Sleeping solo On my travels, my window Has shown this to be so true. |
Higo
Eikyū hyakushu 257
Autumn Nights 秋夜
秋の夜はながゐの浦による波のかへすがへすそねざめられける
| aki no yo wa nagai no ura ni yoru nami no kaesugaesu zo nezamerarekeru | On an autumn night Along the bay at Nagai Waves do rush Time and time again Have I lain sleepless… |
Kanemasa
Eikyū hyakushu 256
Autumn Nights 秋夜
あけがたき秋のよなよないくたびか窓うつ雨にめをさますらん
| akegataki aki no yonayona iku tabi ka mado utsu ame ni me o samasuran | There is no dawning Autumn night after autumn night; How many times Must the rain beating on my window Start my eyes apart? |
Tadafusa
Eikyū hyakushu 255
Autumn Nights 秋夜
秋の夜の鳥のはつ音はつれもなき人待ちしよの心ちこそすれ
| aki no yo no tori no hatsune wa tsure mo naki hito machishi yo no kokochi koso sure | On an autumn night The cock’s first crow Is cruel, indeed! That all night I’ve awaited him How well I feel that now! |
Toshiyori
Eikyū hyakushu 254
Autumn Nights 秋夜
まろねする長月の夜の久しさは鴫なきぬとてたのまれもせず
| maronesuru nagatsuki no yo no hisashisa wa shigi nakinu tote tanomare mo sezu | Tossing in fitful sleep, A night in the Longest Month Does last forever: A snipe cried out, I thought, Quite unexpectedly. |
Nakazane
Eikyū hyakushu 253
Autumn Nights 秋夜
身のうさをおもひあかせば草枕いとど露けき秋のよなよな
| mi no usa o omoiakaseba kusamakura itodo tsuyukeki aki no yonayona | In misery have dwelt My thoughts all night til dawn, so My pillow of grass Is all the more dew-drenched, Autumn night, after autumn night. |
Akinaka
Autumn II: 4
Left.
古の人を聞くにも秋の夜の窓打つ雨はさびしかりけり
| inishie no hito o kiku ni mo aki no yo no mado utsu ame wa sabishikarikeri |
Long ago The ladies, I hear, On autumn nights With rain beating ‘gainst the window Were lonely, as am I… |
367
Right.
軒近き松の風だにある物を窓打ち添ふる秋の村雨
| noki chikaki matsu no kaze dani aru mono o mado uchisouru aki no murasame |
Close by my eaves, Waiting, with the wind through the pines, Striking, The window, beaten by Autumn showers. |
368
The Right complain, ‘In the Left’s poem, the poet seems to hear of the appearance of “long ago ladies”, but what is it that he hears – one would usually expect more, would one not?’ The Left have no criticisms of the Right’s poem.
Shunzei broadly agrees: ‘The Left’s poem, in saying “ladies, I hear” would certainly seem to be recollecting the concubines at the court of Xuanzong, but I wonder if this is clearly enough expressed in the poem? The Right’s final section “The window, beaten by Autumn showers” (mado uchisouru aki no murasame) sounds particularly fine. Thus, the Right wins.’
aki no yo o
On autumn nights.
秋の夜を打崩したる咄かな
| aki no yo o uchikuzushitaru hanashi kana |
The autumn night Breaks into silence Chattering voices. |
(21st day, Ninth Month, 1694)