The End of Winter
Left
したぎえのゆきまをみればふゆながらはるのけちかきここちこそすれ
| shitagie no yukima o mireba fuyu nagara haru no kechikaki kokochi koso sure | Melting below, Gaps in the snow, I see, so Though ‘tis yet winter Spring’s sensation closer Comes, I feel! |
19
Right (Win)
みよしののやまのしらゆきつもるらしふるさとさむくなりまさるなり
| miyoshino no yama no shirayuki tsumorurashi furusato samuku narimasaru nari | On fair Yoshino Mountain white snow fall Drifts high, it seems, For in this ancient place the chill Grows ever stronger. |
Korenori
20
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
Left
白露ぞ霜となりける冬のよはあまの河さへ水こほりけり
| shiratsuyu zo shimo to narikeru fuyu no yo wa ama no kawa sae mizu kōrikeri | Silver dewdrops Have turned to frost On this winter’s night Even the River of Heaven’s Waters have frozen. |
153
Right
冬の海に降りいる雪やそこにゐて春たつ浪の花とさくらん
| fuyu no umi ni furi’iru yuki ya soko ni ite haru tatsu nami no hana to sakuran | Upon the sea in winter, Falling down, is the snow: Does it rest upon the bed and With the waves breaking in springtime Bloom into blossom? |
154
Left
足引の山のかけはし冬くればこほりのうへをよきぞかねつる
| ashihiki no yama no kakehashi fuyu kureba kōri no ue o yoki zo kanetsuru | To the leg-wearying Mountain plankways, When the winter comes The ice atop them Is difficult to avoid! |
147
Right
ふゆくれば雪ふりつもる高きみね立つ白雲に見えまがふかな
| fuyu kureba yuki furitsumoru takaki mine tatsu shirakumo ni miemagau kana | When the winter comes The snow fallen, piled high upon The lofty peaks With the rising clouds so white Is easy to confuse! |
148
Left
をとめ子がひかげのうへに降る雪は花のまがふにいづれたがへり
| otomego ga hikage no ue ni furu yuki wa hana no magau ni izure tagaeri | Maidens In the sunlight, with The falling snow; Such a blending of blossoms— How do they differ? |
145
Left
かきくらし散る花とのみふる雪は冬のみやこの雲のちるかと
| kakikurashi chiru hana to nomi furu yuki wa fuyu no miyako no kumo no chiru ka to | Quickly darkening with Scattered blossom that is simply Falling snow, Is the capital in winter Strewn with cloud? |
146
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
冬の池のうへはこほりてとぢたるをいかでか月のそこにすむらん
| fuyu no ike no ue wa kōrite tojitaru o ikade ka tsuki no soko ni sumuramu | A winter pond is Frozen above and Completely sealed, so Why is it that the moon Seems so clear upon its bed? |
Tomonori
137
Right
ふゆさむみみのもにかくるますかがみとくも我なむ老いまどふべく
| fuyu samumi mi no mo ni kakuru masukagami toku mo warenamu oimadoubeku | In winter’s chill Upon the water’s surface rests A clear glass, but Long since did I break it— Surely confused in my old age! |
138
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
みよしのの山のしら雪ふみ分けて入りにし人のおとづれもせぬ
| miyoshino no yama no shirayuki fumiwakete irinishi hito no otozure mo senu | Through fair Yoshino Mountain’s white snow fall Forging, He entered in, And not a line returned. |
Tadamine
129[1]
Right
吹く風は色も見えねど冬くればひとりぬるよの身にぞしみける
| fuku kaze wa iro mo mienedo fuyu kureba hitori nuru yo no mi ni zo shimikeru | The gusting wind Shows no hue, yet When the winter comes, Sleeping alone at night It chills me to the bone. |
130
[1] Kokinshū VI: 327/Shinsen man’yōshū 183/Kokin rokujō I: 712.