Round Nine
Left
川ぎりのふもとをこめて立ちぬれば空にぞ秋の山はみえける
kawagiri no fumoto o komete tachinureba sora ni zo aki no yama wa miekeru The river mists Around the foothills Have risen, so ‘Tis in the skies that autumn On the mountains is revealed.
Fukayabu 17
Right
年毎の紅葉ばながす立田川みなとや秋のとまりなるらん
toshigoto no momijiba nagasu tatsutagawa minato ya aki no tomari naruran Every single year Scarlet leaves wash down The Tatsuta River; Is it at the mouth that autumn Might find its port?
18
Round Eight
Left
秋風の吹来る声はやまながらなみ立ちかへるおとぞきこゆる
akikaze no fukikuru koe wa yama nagara nami tachikaeru oto zo kikoyuru The autumn breeze’s Cry comes gusting; And in the mountains, The sound of waves washing back and forth Comes to my ears.
15
Right
すみの江の松を秋風吹くからにこゑうちそふる沖つ白なみ
suminoe no matsu o akikaze fuku kara ni koe uchisouru oki tsu shiranami At Suminoe The pines by the autumn breeze Are blown, so The sound lies atop The whitecaps in the offing.
16
Autumn
Round Seven
Left
秋山はからくれなゐに成りにけりいくしほしぐれふりてそめけん
akiyama wa karakurenai ni narinikeri iku shio shigure furite someken The autumn mountains To Cathay scarlet Have turned; How many dippings with drizzle Have fallen to dye them so?
13[1]
Right (Win)
秋きぬとめにはさやかにみえねども風の音にぞおどろかれぬる
aki kinu to me ni wa sayaka ni mienedomo kaze no oto ni zo odorokarenuru That autumn has come With my eyes, clearly, I cannot see, yet The sound of the wind Has startled me.
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 14[2]
[1] Shokugosenshū VII: 429
[2] This poem was particularly highly evaluated and so is included in numerous other anthologies (Kokin rokujō I: 125), exemplary collections (Shinsen waka 2) and senka awase – contests assembled from prior poems (Shunzei sanjū roku nin uta’awase 61; Jidai fudō uta’awase 49).
Two poems by Yamanoue no Okura, composed on the flowers of the autumn fields.
秋の野に咲きたる花を指折りかき数ふれば七草の花
aki no no ni sakitaru pana wo oyobi ori kakikazopureba nanakusa no pana In the autumn fields Blooming are the flowers: On my fingers I do count them out, and Seven plants have blooms.
Yamanoue no Okura
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
Summer
Left
夏くればかみにあふひの草つみてかざしにいのるひとにばかりぞ
natsu kureba kami ni aoi no kusa tsumite kazashi ni inoru hito ni bakari zo When the summer comes For the God, hollyhocks Are plucked, and for a Prayer placed in the hair of All folk, every one!
7
夏草も茂りにければ駿河なる田子のうらなへ今やひくらん
natsu kusa mo shigerinikereba suruga naru tago no ura nae ima ya hikuran The summer grasses, too, Have grown lush, so As Suruga’s Tago Bay, Do they now extend their charm?
8
夏虫のやどるにまつは色ならで春秋空にうつろひやする
natsumushi no yadoru ni matsu wa iro narade haru aki sora ni utsuroi ya suru The summer insects Lodge upon the pines Unchanging hues; Is it the spring and autumn skies Which fade away?
9
Right
卯花の咲く夏の夜はやみなれどかきねにやどる月かとぞみる
u no hana no saku natsu no yo wa yami naredo kakine ni yadoru tsuki ka to zo miru The deutzia flowers Bloom upon a summer night ‘Tis dark, yet Lodged upon my brushwood fence I wonder if I see the moon?
10
五月きぬことかたらはむほととぎす君にあふちの花も咲きけり
satsuki kinu koto katarawamu hototogisu kimi ni auchi no hana mo sakikeri That the Fifth Month has come Is announced by The cuckoo: For you, the chinaberry Blossoms, too, have bloomed.
11
空蝉のからにはあらで置く露の身をあらたむる心なるべし
utsusemi no kara ni wa arade oku tsuyu no mi o aratamuru kokoro narubeshi A cicada’s shed Shell I am not, for The dripping dew Does refresh my flesh, or So my heart seems to feel.
12
Winter moonlight at a mountain retreat.
やまおろしのけしきばかりやふゆならむみやこなりせば秋のよの月
yama’oroshi no keshiki bakari ya fuyu naramu miyako nariseba aki no yo no tsuki The wind howling down the mountain Simply sets a scene of Seeming winter, but Were I in the capital, An autumn night’s moon, would this be…
つゆながらをりてかざさむきくのはなおいせぬ秋のひさしかるべく[1]
tsuyu nagara orite kasasamu kiku no hana oisenu aki no hisashikarubeku Dew-dappled Let us pluck and wear Chrysanthemum blooms That an Autumn of eternal youth Should last forever!
71
[1] This poem is included in Kokinshū (V: 270 ), where it is attributed to Ki no Tomonori.
Topic unknown.
もみぢばのながるるあきはかはごとににしきあらふとひとはみるらん[1]
momidiba no nagaruru aki Fa kaFa goto ni nisiki araFu to Fito Fa miruramu The scarlet leaves Flow and in autumn By every river Washing their brocade Folk can be seen!
Anonymous
[1] This poem is included in the Poetry Contest at Prince Koresada’s House (Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase ) 69 .
もみぢばのながるるあきはかはごとににしきあらふとひとはみるらん[1]
momijiba no nagaruru aki wa kawa goto ni nishiki arau to hito wa miruramu The scarlet leaves Flow and in autumn By every river Washing their brocade Folk can be seen!
ひしくればよるもめかれじきくのはなあきすぎぬればあふべきものか
hi shi kureba yoru mo mekareji kiku no hana aki suginureba aubeki mono ka When the day is here, At night you do escape my sight, O, chrysanthemums; When autumn has passed by, I wonder shall we meet again?
70
[1] This poem is included in Gosenshū (VII: 415 ).
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