なつ衣うすくや人の成りぬらんうつ蝉の音にぬるる袖かな
| natsugoromo usuku ya hito no narinuran utsusemi no oto ni nururu sode kana | Summer garb Scanty has he Become, perhaps? An abandoned cicada shell’s sound is Drenched sleeves![i] |
14
[i] See: 空蝉の羽におく露の木がくれてしのびしのびにぬるる袖かな utsusemi no / ha ni oku tsuyu no / kogakurete / shinobishinobi ni / nururu sode kana ‘Upon an abandoned cicada shell’s / Wings fall dewdrops / Hidden ‘mongst the trees / Secretly, so secretly, / Drenched are my sleeves!’ Utsusemi (Genji monogatari 25)
Cherry.
うつ蝉の世はゆめなれやさくらばなさきてはちりぬあはれいつまで
| utsusemi no yo wa yume nare ya sakurabana sakite wa chirinu aware itsu made | Were this cicada shell World a dream to be, then Would the cherry blossom, Bloom and then scatter? How long will such sorrow last?[i] |
[i] See: Topic unknown. うつせみの世にも似たるか花ざくらさくと見しまにかつちりにけり utsusemi no / yo ni mo nitaru ka / hanazakura / saku to mishi ma ni / katsu chirinikeri ‘This cicada-shell / World do you resemble, / O, cherry blossom? / The moment that I see you bloom / Have you already scattered.’ Anonymous (Kokinshū II: 73)
On the conception of summer lover, when he held a poetry match at his house.
うつせみのなくねやよそにもりの露ほしあへぬ袖を人のとふまで
| utsusemi no naku ne ya yoso ni mori no tsuyu hoshiaenu sode o hito no tou made | A cicada shell of Cries, sobs distant as Dripping dewdrops in the forest— My sleeves never drying Until folk ask me why.. |
The Regent and Grand Minister
From a poetry match held by Tsurayuki when he was Suō province in Tengyō 2 – The beginning of Summer.
いつしかとなつになるらしうつせみのこゑもあはれになきはじむらし
| itsu shika to natsu ni narurashi utsusemi no koe mo aware ni nakihajimurashi | All of a sudden Summer has come, it seems: Cicada shell Songs, sadly Seem to sound in the air. |
Anonymous
The End of Summer
Left
なくこゑはするものからに身はむなしあなおぼつかなうつせみのよや
| naku koe wa suru mono kara ni mi wa munashi ana obotsukana utsusemi no yo ya | Their voices sing And yet Their flesh is empty— O, how strange is A cicada shell world! |
Tadamine
9
Right (Win)
ほととぎすをちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみのさみだれのこゑ
| hototogisu ochikaeri nake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no koe | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: The song of a summer shower. |
Mitsune
10
Left
空蝉の侘びしきものを夏草の露にかかれる身にこそ有りけれ
| utsusemi no wabishiki mono o natsukusa no tsuyu ni kakareru mi ni koso arikere | A cicada’s empty shell Is so sorrowful; To a stalk of summer grass, All draped with dewdrops, It’s form does cling. |
43
Right
なつの夜の月はほどなく明けながらあしたの間をぞかこちよせける
| natsu no yo no tsuki wa hodonaku akenagara ashita no ma o zo kakochiyosekeru | On a summer night, The moon lacks time To brighten, so It will do it on the morrow— That is its excuse! |
44
