Robes scented with orange blossom incense in the night.
utatane no yoru no koromo ni kaoru nari mono’omou yado no noki no tachibana | In fitful doze At night my robe is Scented Gloomy thoughts fill my house With the orange blossom by the eaves. |
Sent to a lady’s house attached to a frond of fern which had taken on autumn colours.
わが恋もいまは色にやいでなまし軒のしのぶも紅葉しにけり
wa ga koi mo ima wa iro ni ya idenamashi noki no shinobu mo momijishinikeri | Does my love, too, Now with such passionate hues Reveal itself, I wonder? Secretly beneath my eaves the ferns Have turned scarlet. |
The Hanazono Minister of the Left
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
Round Nine: Quiet thoughts at Tanabata
Left
八重葎しげる軒ばをかき分けて星合の空をながめつるかな
yae mugura shigeru nokiba o kakiwakete hoshiai no sora o nagametsuru kana | Eightfold thickets Grow lushly beneath my eaves; Pulling them apart upon The sky of trysting stars Will I turn my gaze! |
Taira no Sadatsugu[1]
Right
七夕のあふよの程は思ひやる心さへこそ空にすみけれ
tanabata no au yo no hodo wa omoiyaru kokoro sae koso sora ni sumikere | Tanabata is A night for meeting—throughout it I am filled with longing: Even my very heart Does dwell among the skies. |
Fujiwara no Kaneyuki[2]
[1] Taira no Sadatsugu 平貞継. The identity of this individual is unclear. This poem is his sole appearance in a poetry contest.
[2] 藤原兼行