Prince Motoyoshi lived with the daughter of Lord Kanemori, but she was summoned by the Cloistered Emperor and, while she was in service to him, he was unable to meet her, so at the beginning of the year in springtime, he took a branch of cherry blossom, and left it thrust through the doorway of her chamber.
花のいろはむかしながらにみし人の心のみこそうつろひにけれ
Fana no iro Fa mukasi nagara ni misi Fito no kokoro nomi koso uturoFinikere The hues of this blossom are Just as long ago, when She I saw them with has Her heart, indeed, Moved elsewhere!
Prince Motoyoshi
Created with Soan .
On the conception of hidden love, when he held a poetry match in one hundred rounds at his house, while he was Major Captain of the Left.
もらすなよ雲ゐるみねのはつしぐれ木葉は下にいろかはるとも
morasu na yo kumo’iru mine no hatsushigure ko no ha wa shita ni iro kawaru tomo O, don’t drip down, Peak-clinging clouds First shower! For under you the trees’ leaves Will yet change their hues…[i]
The Regent and Grand Minister
Created with Soan .
[i] An allusive variation on KKS V: 260 .
Left
みにそへてもたらぬ秋ををしむとてくれん事こそわびしかりけれ
mi ni soete motaranu aki o oshimu tote kuren koto koso wabishikarikere It mounts up, Unreliable, autumn Fills me with regret, and That it fades into dusk, indeed, Is truly sad.
39
Right
もみぢつつしぐれふりいでてゆく秋をみねの朝霧たちもとめなん
momijitsutsu shigure furi’idete yuku aki o mine no asagiri tachi mo tomenan Ever marked with autumn hues The showers fall on Autumn as it goes; The morning mist around the peak Arises, then lingers on.
40
Left
くれぬべきあきををしめばをぐら山みねのもみぢもいろづきにけり
kurenubeki aki o oshimeba ogurayama mine no momiji mo irozukinikeri Pass into dusk must Autumn, so I regret when On Ogura Mountain The scarlet leaves on the peak Have taken on deeper hues!
33
Right
をしめども秋はとまらず女郎花野べにおくれてかれぬばかりを
oshimedomo aki wa tomarazu ominaeshi nobe ni okurete karenu bakari o I regret it, yet Autumn will not linger; O, maidenflower, Within the meadows tarry and Simply do not wither away…
34
Left
とどむれどいまはかぎりとゆく秋のわりなくをしくおもほゆるかな
todomuredo ima wa kagiri to yuku aki no warinaku oshiku omohoyuru kana It has lingered, yet Now is the end, and with Autumn’s leaving Beyond all reason, regret Do I feel!
27
Right
あふさかのせきのもみぢし心あらばくれてゆくとも秋をとめなん
ausaka no seki no momijishi kokoro araba kureteyuku to mo aki o tomenan If at Meeting Hill’s Barrier autumn hues did Fill my heart, then As it passes into dusk I would hold the season here.
28
Left (Win)
したひてもとめまほしきはいまはとて秋のゆくらんかたぞしられぬ
shitaitemo tomemahoshiki wa ima wa tote aki no yukuran kata zo shirarenu These fair hues I would detain For now, I say, for Whither autumn might go Is unknown to all…
19
Right
もみぢばをにしきとみゆる秋なればたつををしとや鹿のなくらん
momijiba o nishiki to miyuru aki nareba tatsu o oshi to ya shika no nakuran The scarlet leaves as Brocade do appear In autumn, so Is it regret that departure cuts them short That makes the stag cry out?
20
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
As a poem on willows.
春くれば猶色まさる山しろのときはの杜の青柳のいと
haru kureba nao iro masaru yamashiro no tokiwa no mori no aoyagi no ito Spring has come, and Still their hues are beyond fine: In Yamashiro’s Evergreen forests— Pale green threads of willow.
Created with Soan .
しら露はわきてもおかじをみなへし心からにや色のそむらむ
shiratsuyu wa wakite mo okaji ominaeshi kokoro kara ni ya iro no somuramu Silver dewdrops Fall where they will, so Surely, ’tis the maidenflower’s Own heart that Stains her with such hues?
Michinaga
をみなへしさかりの色をみるからにつゆのわきける身こそしらるれ
ominaeshi sakari no iro o miru kara ni tsuyu no wakikeru mi koso shirarure This maidenflower’s Vibrant hues I see, and That the dew makes no difference To me—how well I know it!
Murasaki Shikibu
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