Left (Tie)
わがやどのきくの花しももみぢねばすぎゆく秋もあらじとぞおもふ
| wa ga yado no kiku no hana shimo momijineba sugiyuku aki mo araji to zo omou | At my house Even the chrysanthemum blooms Have yet to take on autumn hues, so The season’s passing I do not seem to feel! |
15
Right
はかなくてすぐる秋とは知りながらをしむ心のなほあかぬかな
| hakanakute suguru aki to wa shirinagara oshimu kokoro no nao akanu kana | Brief, indeed, is Autumn’s passing, that I know so well, yet The regrets within my heart are Ever unsatisfied! |
16
Plum blossom disliking the rain.
我がやどの梅のはなさけり春雨はいたくなふりそちらまくもをし
| wa ga yado no ume no hana sakeri harusame wa itaku na furi so chiramaku mo oshi | At my house The plum blossom has bloomed, so Spring showers, Don’t fall so hard, for Scattered petals I would regret! |
Plum blossom at an ancient estate.
年ふればやどはあれにけり梅のはな花はむかしの香ににほへども
| toshi fureba yado wa arenikeri ume no hana hana wa mukashi no ka ni nioedomo | The years have passed, so The house has into ruin fallen, yet The plum’s blossoming Flowers, as in days long gone Scent the air with fragrance. |
30
Composed on plum blossom.
わがやどの八重のこうばいさきにけりしるもしらぬもなべてとはなん
| wa ga yado no yae no kōbai sakinikeri shiru mo shiranu mo nabete towanan | At my house Eightfold scarlet plum Has bloomed; Acquaintances, and not, All, equally, I would have you come to visit! |
Composed on plum blossom.
梅のはなさけるさかりをめのまへにすぐせるやどは春ぞすくなき
| ume no hana sakeru sakari o me no mae ni suguseru yado wa haru zo sukunaki | The plum blossoms Are blooming in profusion Before my eyes Passing time at my house Spring is brief, indeed! |
A warbler between the blossom.
春くれば先さくやどのむめのはなかをなつかしみうぐひすぞ鳴く
| haru kureba mazu saku yado no mume no hana ka o natsukashimi uguisu zo naku | When the spring has come, First to bloom at my house is Plum blossom Fond of its fragrance Does the warbler sing! |
Summer
Five poems on the Fourth Month
Left (Win)
みやまいでてまづはつこゑはほととぎすよぶかくまたむわがやどになけ
| miyama idete mazu hatsukoe wa hototogisu yobu kaku matamu wa ga yado ni nake | Emerging from the mountains deep, Early, your first call, Cuckoo— Where I would be waiting all night long At my house, o, sing out! |
Masakata[i]
41
Right
けふよりはなつのころもになりぬれどきるひとさへはかはらざりけり
| kyō yori wa natsu no koromo ni narinuredo kiru hito sae wa kawarazarikeri | From today Summer garb We have put on, yet The folk who wear it Have not changed at all. |
Mitsune
42
‘The Right is uninteresting,’ so it lost.
[i] Minamoto no Masakata 源雅固 (dates unknown). A son of Minamoto no Sada’ari 源定有 (dates unknown), one of the sons of Emperor Montoku (827-858; r. 850-858).
These are poems which His Majesty had everyone in attendance compose on the day.
わがやどをみなへしひとのすぎゆかばあきのくさばはしぐれざらまし
| wa ga yado o mina heshi hito no sugiyukaba aki no kusaba wa shigurezaramashi | Should my house By all the passing folk Be passed by, then Would not the autumn grasses Scatter showers? |
Minamoto no Tsuruna
29
をしめどもえだにとまらぬもみぢばをみなへしおきてあきののちみむ
| oshimedomo eda ni tomaranu momijiba o mina heshi okite aki no nochi mimu | I regret it, yet On the branches have not lingered Scarlet leaves— I will press them, every one, To gaze on after autumn’s passing. |
Muneyuki
30
Left
しらつゆのおけるあしたのをみなへしはなにもはにもたまぞかかれる
| shiratsuyu no okeru ashita no ominaeshi hana ni mo ha ni mo tama zo kakareru | Silver dewdrops Fallen in the morning on A maidenflower: Both bloom and leaves Are all hung with pearls. |
7[1]
Right
をみなへしたてるのざとをうちすぎてうらみむつゆにぬれやん
| ominaeshi tateru nozato o uchisugite uramimu tsuyu ni nure ya wataran | A maidenflower Stands at a house upon the plains As I pass by; Is it her resentful dew That has drenched me on my way? |
8
[1] Gyokuyōshū 526; Shinsen man’yōshū 606; Kokin rokujō 3687