A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
吹風と谷の水としなかりせば深山がくれの花を見ましや
| Fuku kaze to tani no midu to si nakariseba miyama gakure no Fana wo mimasi ya | The gusting wind and The valley’s waters Were there none, then Hidden in the mountains’ depths These blossoms – would any wish to see them? |
Tsurayuki
Composed on a bush warbler singing in a blossoming tree.
しるしなき音をもなく哉うぐひすの今年のみちる花ならなくに
| sirusi naki ne wo mo naku kana uguFisu no kotoshi nomi tiru Fana naranaku ni | No effect Does your cry have at all, O, warbler! For this year alone scatter The blossoms do not… |
Mitsune
Topic unknown.
散る花のなくにし止まる物ならば我におとらましやは
| tiru Fana no nakunisi tomaru mono naraba ware uguFisu ni otoramasi ya Fa | If the scattering blossoms Halted by cries Could be, Would mine to the warbler’s Lose out? Surely not! |
Assistant Handmaid [Harusumi no] Amaneiko[1]
[1] Amaneiko 洽子 (dates unknown) was the daughter of Harusumi no Yoshitada 春澄善縄 (797-870), a regional noble from Inaba in Ise, who was granted the name of Harusumi in 828. Her original name was Takaiko 高子, but this was changed in 877, as it was the same as that of Fujiwara no Takaiko 藤原高子 (842-910) , the consort of Emperor Seiwa 清和 (850-880; r. 858-876) and mother of Emperor Yōzei 陽成 (869-949; r. 876-884). Yoshitada had four children, of whom Amaneiko was the only one to enjoy any success at court, meaning that the family line ended after her death. Amaneiko had a respectable court career, serving five emperors, and eventually reaching Junior Third Rank in 902, a remarkable achievement for a court lady from a provincial background. Emperor Uda 宇多 (867-931; r. 887-897) regarded her extremely highly, singling her out for mention in his Kanpyō no go-yukai 寛平御遺誡 (897), a set of instructions and advice he wrote for Emperor Daigo 醍醐 (885-930; 897-930), when he abdicated and Daigo took the throne at the age of thirteen.
Topic unknown.
吹風をなきてうら見ようぐひすは我やは花に手だにふれたる
| Fuku kaze wo nakite uramiyo uguFisu Fa ware ya Fa Fana ni te dani Furetaru | The gusting breeze With song does reproach The warbler, or Is it me? For on the blossoms Have I dared to lay a hand… |
Anonymous
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
春霞色のちぐさに見えつるはたなびく山の花のかげかも
| Farugasumi iro no tigusa ni mieturu Fa tanabiku yama no Fana no kage kamo | The haze of spring has Countless hues It does appear; Streaming across the mountains with The blossoms’ glow. |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
さく花は千種ながらにあだなれど誰かは春を怨はてたる
| saku Fana Fa tigusa nagara ni ada naredo tare ka Fa mukasi wo uramiFatetaru | The blossoms bloom In countless kinds Most fragile, yet Who is it that for long-gone days Is filling with despite? |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
Topic unknown.
待つ人も来ぬものゆへにうぐひすの鳴きつる花を折てける哉
| matu Fito mo konu mono yuFe ni uguFisu no nakituru Fana wo woritekeru kana | The one who I await Has failed to come, and so The warbler’s Song-perch – the blossoms – Have I plucked! |
Anonymous
Topic unknown.
花のごと世の常ならば過ぐしてし昔は又も帰りきなまし
| Fana no goto yo no tune naraba sugusitesi mukasi Fa mata mo kaFerikinamasi | Were the ever-cycling blossoms To be a model for this world, For the long-gone Past once more to Return – that’s what I would want. |
Anonymous
Topic unknown.
春ごとに花の盛りはありなめどあひ見む事はいのちなりけり
| Faru gotot ni Fana no sakari Fa arinamedo aFimimu koto Fa inoti narikeri | In every springtime are there Blossoms in profusion, No doubt, and yet Whether I will see them more Hangs upon my lifeline. |
Anonymous
When he had gone to the northern hills to view the blossom, he sent this to the residence of the Un’rin-in Prince.[1]
いざけふは春の山辺にまじりなむ暮れなばなげの花の影かは
| iza keFu Fa Faru no yamabe ni mazirinamu kurenaba nage no Fana no kage ka Fa | So, on this day Into the springtime mountains Let us tread! For even should dusk fall, brief Would the blossoms glow be? Surely not! |
Sosei
[1] Imperial Prince Tsuneyasu 常康親王 (?-869), the seventh son of Emperor Ninmyō.