をみなへしさかりの色をみるからにつゆのわきける身こそしらるれ
ominaeshi sakari no iro o miru kara ni tsuyu no wakikeru mi koso shirarure | This maidenflower’s Vibrant hues I see, and That the dew makes no difference To me—how well I know it! |
Murasaki Shikibu
Bamboo
Left
つゆもおけとなびくものからたけのはのいろうつろへるあきもみぬかな
tsuyu mo oke to nabiku mono kara take no ha no iro utsuroeru aki mo minu kana | ‘Fall, O, dewdrops!’, I say, then Weighed down The bamboo leaves’ Hues fading I’ll see not this autumn! |
18
Asters
Right
あきののにいろなきつゆはおきしかどわかむらさきに花はそみけり
aki no no ni iro naki tsuyu wa okishikado wakamurasaki ni hana wa somikeri | Upon the autumn meadows Colourless dew Has fallen, yet With pale violet Have the blooms been dyed. |
18
Left
しらつゆのおけるあしたのをみなへしはなにもはにもたまぞかかれる
shiratsuyu no okeru ashita no ominaeshi hana ni mo ha ni mo tama zo kakareru | Silver dewdrops Fallen in the morning on A maidenflower: Both bloom and leaves Are all hung with pearls. |
7[1]
Right
をみなへしたてるのざとをうちすぎてうらみむつゆにぬれやん
ominaeshi tateru nozato o uchisugite uramimu tsuyu ni nure ya wataran | A maidenflower Stands at a house upon the plains As I pass by; Is it her resentful dew That has drenched me on my way? |
8
[1] Gyokuyōshū 526; Shinsen man’yōshū 606; Kokin rokujō 3687
Said by someone to be composed on the feelings of Wang Zhaojun when she was travelling to the kingdom of Hu.
なげきこしみちの露にもまさりけりなれにしさとをこふるなみだは
nagekikoshi michi no tsuyu ni mo masarikeri narenishi sato o kouru namida wa | A source of grief, The dew upon this road, too, Is great, indeed, as For my familiar home I Shed tears of longing. |
Left
唐ころもほせど袂の露けきは我が身の秋になればなりけり
karakoromo hosedo tamoto no tsuyukeki wa wa ga mi no aki ni nareba narikeri | My Cathay robe I dry, and yet the sleeves Dew dampness is because For me autumn Has come. |
108[1]
Right
秋の露色のことごとおけばこそ山も紅葉も千くさなるらめ
aki no tsuyu iro no kotogoto okeba koso yama mo momiji mo chigusa narurame | The autumn dewdrops In a medley of colours Do truly fall, so The mountains and the autumn leaves, too, Turn a multitude of hues. |
109
[1] Shinchokusenshū V: 298
Left
白露の染めいだす萩の下紅葉衣にうつすあきは来にけり
shiratsuyu no some’idasu hagi no shita momiji koromo ni utsusu aki wa kinikeri | Silver dewdrops Lay dye upon the bush clover’s Scarlet underleaves: Reflected in its garb, Autumn has come! |
102
Right
風寒み啼く秋虫のなみだこそ草に色どる露とおくらめ
kaze samumi naku akimushi no namida koso kusa ni irodoru tsuyu to okurame | The wind is chill, with The crying autumn insects’ Tears; Bringing colour to the grasses, The dew seems to fall… |
103
Left
かりそめのみやたのまれぬ夏の日をなど空蝉のなきくらしつる
karisome no mi ya tanomarenu natsu no hi o nado utsusemi no nakikurashitsuru | Is my transient Flesh untrustworthy? On a summer day Why does the cicada, an empty shell, Cry the day away? |
47[1]
Right
はかもなき夏のくさ葉におく露を命とたのむ虫のはかなさ
haka mo naki natsu no kusaba ni oku tsuyu o inochi to tanomu mushi no hakanasa | Fleetingly Upon the blades of summer grass Falls the dew— A lifetime, I expect, for The short-lived insects. |
48
[1] A minor variant of this poem, with a headnote associating it with this contest, occurs in Shokugosenshū (XVI: 1058): かりそめの世やたのまれぬ夏の日をなどうつせみのなきくらしつる karisome no / yo ya tanomarenu / natsu no hi o / nado utsusemi no / nakikurashitsuru ‘Is this transient / World untrustworthy? / On a summer day / Why does the cicada, an empty shell, / Cry the day away?’
人しれぬ袖ぞ露けき逢ふことはかれのみまさる山のした草
hito shirenu sode zo tsuyukeki au koto wa kare nomi masaru yama no shitagusa | Unknown to all My sleeves are drenched with dew; For our meetings Excel only in being withered As the scrub grass on the mountainside. |
[Nakako,] The Suō Handmaid
29
In reply.
おく山の下かげ草はかれやする軒ばにのみはおのれなりつつ
oku yama no shitakagegusa wa kare ya suru nokiba ni nomi wa onore naritsutsu | Deep within the mountains, have The grasses growing in the trees’ dark shade Really withered away? Simply beneath your eaves, Is where I ever am… |
The Consultant Middle Captain
30