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]
17
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]
18
[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
あまのがはほしあひのそらをみるほどもなほわすられぬすずむしのこゑ
ama no gawa hoshiai no sora o miru hodo mo nao wasurarenu suzumushi no koe | The River of Heaven fills The sky of trysting stars, and When I gaze upon it Even less might I forget The bell crickets’ song. |
Lady Ukon
Stars 星
あまつ空夕の星のよそにても恋しき人をみるよしもがな
ama tsu sora yū no hoshi no yoso nite mo koishiki hito o miru yoshi mo gana | In the sky-spanning heavens The evening stars are So far away; If only my darling I could, somehow, see! |
Daishin
Stars 星
時つ鳥なかず雲ゐにとどろきて星のはやしにうづもれぬらん
tokitsudori nakazu kumoi ni todorokite hoshi no hayashi ni uzumorenuran | The cuckoo is Songless among the clouds, where Echoes Within the forest of stars Seem never to die away… |
Toshiyori
Stars 星
日くるれば星をいただくかみにしもはらひもあへずおける霜かな
hi kurureba hoshi o itadaku kami ni shimo harai mo aezu okeru shimo kana | When the sun grows dim, Spreading out the stars, The gods most certainly Will not sweep away The fallen frost! |
Nakazane
Stars 星
雪とのみかしらはなりていただきし星をよそめにみるぞかなしき
yuki to nomi kashira wa narite itadakishi hoshi no yosome ni miru zo kanashiki | Snow is all that Upon my head Has been laid The stars, so far away The sight is so, so sad… |
Akinaka
星さきや熱田の潟の漁火のほのも知りぬや思ふ心を
Fosi saki ya
atuta no kata no
isaribi no
Fono mo sirinu ya
omoFu kokoro wo |
Stars leading the way:
On the sands of Atsuta
Fishing fires
Faintly revealed
As are the thoughts within my heart? |
Minamoto no Nakazane
源仲実
'Simply moving and elegant'