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'