Composed as a love poem.
一夜とてよがれしとこのさむしろにやがてもちりのつもりぬるかな
| hitoyo tote yogaresi toko no samusiro ni yagate mo tiri no tumorinuru kana | ‘Just for one night,’ he said, but At night my bed lies abandoned, with A chilly, threadbare blanket Where the dust Is piled high! |
Sanuki
When he presented a Hundred Poem Sequence.
ひとりぬるやまどりのをのしだり尾にしもおきまよふとこの月影
| hitori nuru yamadori no o no shidario ni shimo okimayou toko no tsukikage | Sleeping alone, The mountain pheasant’s tail Hangs down, Mistaking for fallen frost The moonlight on his bed.[i] |
Lord Fujiwara no Sada’ie
[i] An allusive variation on SIS XIII: 778.
From the poetry contest in 1500 rounds.
見ぬ人をまつの木かげの苔むしろ猶敷島ややまとなでしこ
| minu hito o matsu no kokage no kokemushiro nao shikishima ya yamato nadeshiko | For a man unseen She pines in the shadow of the trees On a mossy bed for Her coverlet, the isles that make Yamato – a pink! |
Kūnaikyō, in service to Former Emperor Gotoba
Left
白露ぞ霜となりける冬のよはあまの河さへ水こほりけり
| shiratsuyu zo shimo to narikeru fuyu no yo wa ama no kawa sae mizu kōrikeri | Silver dewdrops Have turned to frost On this winter’s night Even the River of Heaven’s Waters have frozen. |
153
Right
冬の海に降りいる雪やそこにゐて春たつ浪の花とさくらん
| fuyu no umi ni furi’iru yuki ya soko ni ite haru tatsu nami no hana to sakuran | Upon the sea in winter, Falling down, is the snow: Does it rest upon the bed and With the waves breaking in springtime Bloom into blossom? |
154
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
君こふる涙の床にみちぬれば身をつくしとぞ我はなりぬる
| kimi koFuru namida no toko ni mitinureba mi wo tukusi to zo ware Fa narinuru | Loving you With tears my bed Has completely filled, so A channel buoy, exhausted, Have I become. |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
逢ふ事やこよひこよひとかよふまに空忘れして月日へにけり
| au koto ya koyoi koyoi to kayou ma ni sora wasureshite tsukihi henikeri | I wonder will we meet Tonight, maybe tonight, I think, and While I’m on my way, Forgetful of the skies, Days and months have passed me by. |
Kuninobu, the Minamoto Middle Counsellor
5
In reply.
あや莚をとなるまでも恋ひずしてまだきに床を忘るべしやは
| ayamushiro oto naru made mo koizushite madaki ni toko o wasurubeshi ya wa | My patterned blanket Lies far away, and yet Lacking love How swiftly my bed Might you be able to forget? |
Daishin, in service to His Former Majesty
6
ゆめののちむなしきとこはあらじかしあきののなかもこひしかりけり
| yume no nochi munashiki toko wa araji kashi aki no no naka mo koishikarikeri | After a dream of you The emptiness of my bed I feel not, I think, for Amid the autumn meadows I do love you still. |
63
もみぢばのたまれるかりのなみだにはあきの月こそかげやどしけれ
| momijiba no tamareru kari no namida ni wa aki no tsuki koso kage yadoshikere | The scarlet leaves Clog the goose Tears, where It I the autumn moon’s Light finds lodging. |
64