草深く荒たる宿の灯火の風にきえぬは蛍なりけり
| kusa Fukaku aretaru yado no tomosibi no kaze ni kienu Fa Fotaru narikeri |
Deep within the grasses A ruined house has Torches Not guttering in the breeze: Fireflies. |
Tag Archives: hotaru
Autumn I: 17
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.’
Love 57
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
Entō Onhyakushu 33
夕涼み芦の葉亂れ寄る波に螢數そふあまのいさり火
| yū suzumi ashi no ha midare yoru nami ni hotaru kazu sou ama no isaribi |
As the evening cools The reed fronds are in disarray, Brushed by the waves, as A multitude of fireflies Appear like fishing lights. |
Entō Onhyakushu 30
下くゆるむかひの森の蚊遣火に思ひ燃えそひ行螢かな
| shita kuyuru mukai no mori no kayaribi ni omoi moe soi yuku hotaru kana |
Smouldering beneath Yonder forest, The smudge pots Draw the embers of my passion Like floating fireflies. |
tenarai no
On fireflies.
手習の顔にくれ行ほたるかな
| tenarai no kao ni kureyuku hotaru kana |
Hard at letter practice Their faces fade In the fireflies’ light. |
kaya no uchi
On mosquito nets.
蚊屋の内にほたる放してああ樂や
| kaya no uchi hotaru hanashite aa raku ya |
Within the mosquito nets Loosing fireflies: So pleasant to see. |
kono hotaru
On fireflies.
此ほたる田ごとのつきにくらべみん
| kono hotaru tagoto no tsuki ni kurabemin |
These fireflies To the autumn moon above the rice-fields Do compare. |
(1688)
SKKS XVII: 1591
Topic unknown.
はるゝよのほしかゝはべの螢かもわがすむかたのあまのたくひか
| haruru yo no hoshi ka kawabe no hotaru kamo wa ga sumu kata no ama no taku hi ka |
On this fine night, Are those stars? Or, by the riverbank Fireflies, perhaps? Or even, near my home, Fires kindled by the fisherfolk? |
Ariwara no Narihira
在原業平
SKKS III: 272
Composed watching fireflies flying upwards.
いづちとかよるは蛍のゝぼるらんゆくかたしらぬ草の枕に
| izuchi to ka yoru wa hotaru no noboruran yuku kata shiranu kusa no makura ni |
Whither bound? At night the fireflies Ascend; Destination unknown, Pausing briefly, pillowed on the grasses. |
Mibu no Tadami