Composed on plum blossom.
梅がえにこほれる霜やとけぬらんほしあへぬ露の花にこぼるる
| ume ga e ni kōreru shimo ya tokenuran hoshiaenu tsuyu no hana ni koboreru | Upon the plum tree’s branches The frozen frost Is melting, it seems— Never-drying dewdrops Overflow the blossom. |
Spring
Ten Poems on the Second Month
Left
あをやぎのえだにかかれるはるさめはいともてぬけるたまかとぞみる
| aoyagi no eda ni kakareru harusame wa ito mo te nukeru tama ka to zo miru | Upon the green willow Branches hang Spring raindrops— As if each frond were hand-threaded With gems do they appear. |
Ise
1
Right
あさみどりそめてみだれるあをやぎのいとをばはるのかぜやよるらむ
| asamidori somete midareru aoyagi no ito oba haru no kaze ya yoruramu | Pale green Dyes the tangled Willow Fronds—do spring’s Breeze they seem to beckon? |
Korenori
2
I’d say both of these are good—a tie.
These are poems which His Majesty had everyone in attendance compose on the day.
わがやどをみなへしひとのすぎゆかばあきのくさばはしぐれざらまし
| wa ga yado o mina heshi hito no sugiyukaba aki no kusaba wa shigurezaramashi | Should my house By all the passing folk Be passed by, then Would not the autumn grasses Scatter showers? |
Minamoto no Tsuruna
29
をしめどもえだにとまらぬもみぢばをみなへしおきてあきののちみむ
| oshimedomo eda ni tomaranu momijiba o mina heshi okite aki no nochi mimu | I regret it, yet On the branches have not lingered Scarlet leaves— I will press them, every one, To gaze on after autumn’s passing. |
Muneyuki
30
Left
をみなへしうつろふあきのほどをなみねさへうつしてをしむけふかな
| ominaeshi utsurou aki no hodo o nami ne sae utsushite oshimu kyō kana | The maidenflower With the autumn will fade Soon away; Being shifted here root and all She must regret, today! |
19[1]
Right
うつらずはふゆともわかじをみなへしときはのえだにさきかへらなむ
| utsurazu wa fuyu to mo wakaji ominaeshi tokiwa no eda ni sakikaeranamu | Ever unfading and All unknowing of the winter, O, maidenflower, On evergreen branches I would you returned to bloom! |
20
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 514
Composed on the scent of plum blossom at night.
むめがえにかぜやふくらん春の夜はをらぬ袖さへにほひぬるかな
| mume ga e ni kaze ya Fukuran Faru no yo Fa woranu sode saFe nioFinuru kana | Are the plum trees’ branches Being blown by the wind? On a night in springtime Even unfolded sleeves Give forth a scent! |
Nagafusa, Former Assistant Governor General of the Dazaifu
Left 白雪の降りつもれる山里は人さへやおもひ消ゆらむ[1]
| shirayuki no furitsumoreru yamazato wa sumu hito sae ya omoikiyuramu | White snow Has fallen, drifted high around The mountain home; Might even he who lives there Be buried in melancholy? |
This poem is missing from some texts of the contest and thus is unnumbered.
Right
ひかりまつ枝にかかれる雪をこそ冬の花とはいふべかりけれ
| hikari matsu eda ni kakareru yuki o koso fuyu no hana to wa iubekarikere | Awaiting the light Upon the branches clings Snow: Winter’s blossom—that’s what It should be called! |
144
[1] Kokinshū VI: 328, attributed to Mibu no Tadamine.
Left
草も木も枯行く冬の宿なれば雪ならずしてとふ人ぞなき
| kusa mo ki mo kareyuku fuyu no yado nareba yuki narazushite tou hito zo naki | Both grass and trees Wither away with winter At my home, so Even without the snow No one comes to call. |
135
Right
ふる雪はえだにしばしもとまらなむ花も紅葉も絶えてなきまは
| furu yuki wa eda ni shibashi mo tomaranamu hana mo momiji mo taete naki ma wa | The falling snow Upon the branches for a while Does rest, when Neither blossoms nor scarlet leaves Are there at all… |
136
Left
雪のみぞ枝にふりしき花もはもいにけむ方もみえずも有るかな
| yuki nomi zo eda ni furishiki hana mo ha mo inikemu kata mo miezu mo aru kana | The snow is simply Fallen, scattered, on the branches; The blossom and the leaves, too: Where might they have gone? I cannot see! |
133
Right
白雪の八重ふりしける帰る山かへるがへるも老いにけるかな
| shirayuki no yae furishikeru kaeru yama kaerugaeru mo oinikeru kana | White snow Falls eightfold on Mount Return— Returning and returning again Is the age I feel! |
Ariwara no Muneyana
134[1]
[1] Kokinshū XVII: 902/Shinsen man’yōshū 169/Kokin rokujō II: 1393