Composed on the conception of summer love, when the Regent and Palace Minister held a poetry contest at his residence.
おもひあれば袖にほたるをつつみてもいはばや物をとふ人はなし
| omoi areba sode ni hotaru o tsutsumite mo iwaba ya mono o tou hito wa nashi | I am filled with passion’s fire, but Even should my sleeves fireflies Wrap up, ‘What do you ponder on?’— There’s no one to enquire of me…[1] |
Monk Jakuren
[1] An allusive variation on Gosenshū IV: 209; and a poem which Kenshō cites in his judgement of the poems in Round 1310 of Sengohyakuban uta’awase 千五百番歌合 (‘Poetry Contest in 1500 Rounds’): あめふればのきのたま水つぶつぶといはばやものを心ゆくまで ame fureba / noki no tamamizu / tsubutsubu to / iwaba ya mono o / kokoro yuku made ‘The rain falls and / Jewelled droplets from my eaves / Drip one by one: / Should I ponder on that / Until my heart is eased?’
Regretting the Day of the Rat
Left
むねのひををしもぬかねばみだれおつるなみだのたまにかつぞけちつる
| mune no hi o o shimo nukaneba midare’otsuru namida no tama ni katsu zo kechitsuru | The fire within my breast Will not thread upon a string, but My disorderly dripping Gemstone tears will Yet extinguish it. |
Tsurayuki
23
Right (Win)
くらきよにともすほたるのむねのひををしもとけたるたまかとぞ見る
| kuraki yo ni tomosu hotaru no mune no hi o o shimo toketaru tama ka zo zo miru | On a night so dark, The kindled fireflies of The fire within my breast; Loosened from their string As scattered gemstones they appear. |
Tadamine
24
あきのよにかりかもなきてわたるなる我が思ふ人のことづてやせる[1]
| aki no yo ni kari kamo nakite watarunaru wa ga omou hito no kotozute ya seru | On an autumn night Is that the geese a’crying As they pass by? There is one I love— Would you take a message to her? |
43
おく露にくちゆくのべのくさのはやあきのほたるとなりわたるらむ[2]
| oku tsuyu ni kuchiyuku nobe no kusa no ha ya aki no hotaru to nariwataruramu | Dew falls on The rotting meadows, where The blades of grass with The tired autumn fireflies Do seem to sound… |
44
[1] A minor variant of this poem is included in Gosenshū (VII: 356), where it is attributed to [Ki no] Tsurayuki.
[2] This poem is included in Fubokushō (5548), where it is attributed to [Mibu no] Tadamine.
はまちどりあきとしなればあさぎりにかたまどはしてなかぬ日ぞなき
| hamachidori aki to shinareba asagiri ni kata madowashite nakanu hi zo naki | The plovers on the beach: When the autumn comes, In the morning mists Do lose their way; No day dawns without their cries… |
3
あきくればみやまざとこそわびしけれよるはほたるをともしびにして[1]
| aki kureba miyamazato koso wabishikere yoru wa hotaru o tomoshibi ni shite | When the autumn comes My hut deep in the mountains Is lonelier by far; At night with fireflies For my lantern. |
4
[1] This poem also appears as Fubokushō 5545 where is it is listed as by Ōe no Chisato
Left (Win).
はかなしや荒れたる宿のうたゝ寢に稲妻通ふ手枕の露
| hakanashi ya aretaru yado no utatane ni inazuma kayou tamakura no tsuyu |
How brief it was! In a ruined dwelling Dozing, when Lightning crossed The dewdrops on my pillowing arm… |
333
Right.
すだき來し澤の螢は影消てたえだえ宿る宵の稲妻
| sudakikoshi sawa no hotaru wa kage kiete taedae yadoru yoi no inazuma |
All together have The fireflies above the marsh Lost their light; Briefly remaining, Lightning at the dusk… |
334
The Right state that they have no criticisms of the Left’s poem. The Left wonder about the suitability of fireflies disappearing in the autumn.
Shunzei feels, ‘The Left’s poem is certainly charming in form and expression, but more thought should have been given to the initial phrase “How brief it was!” (hakanashi ya). The Right’s poem, too, is charming, and as for fireflies being a topic for summer poetry alone, in autumn it is acceptable to compose on the failing of their light, is it not? Did not Anjin compose “Fireflies flashing on the palace stairs and gates/Crickets crying from the eaves and tiles”? There is also the example from the Collection of Songs to Sing Aloud of “Seeking cuckoo calls in the dawntime clouds/Innumerable fireflies flit among the autumn grasses”. Still, the Left’s “dewdrops on my pillowing arm” wins, I think.’
Left (Tie).
くるゝ夜は衛士のたく火をそれと見よ室の八嶋も都ならねば
| kururu yo wa eji no taku hi wo sore to miyo muro no yashima mo miyako naraneba |
In the dark of night, The conscripts kindled flames Behold as my love, for The waters of Muro no Yashima Lie not within the capital. |
113
Right (Tie).
蘆の屋に螢やまがふ海人やたく思ひも戀も夜はもえつゝ
| ashi no ya ni hotaru ya magau ama ya taku omoi mo koi mo yoru wa moetsutsu |
In a reed-roofed hut, One might mistake for fireflies, or Fisherfolk’s kindled fires The passion and the love, that Burns in me throughout the night. |
114
