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. |
For a folding screen showing snow falling and clinging to a plum tree.
梅のはな色はそれともわかぬまで風にみだれて雪はふりつつ
| ume no hana iro wa sore tomo wakanu made kaze ni midarete yuki wa furitsutsu | The plum blossoms’ Hue is such that I cannot tell them apart— The wind creates confusion as The snow falls on and on… |
Left (Tie)
むらさきにあふみづなれやかきつばたそこのいろさへかはらざるらむ
| murasaki ni au mizu nare ya kakitsubata soko no iro sae kawararuramu | Violet Suits the water here! Irises The hues beneath Seem to have changed. |
Mitsune
45
Right
ほととぎすこゑのみするはふくかぜのおとはのやまになけばなりけり
| hototogisu koe nomi suru wa fuku kaze no otowa no yama ni nakeba narikeri | A cuckoo’s Call alone upon The gusting wind; Wingbeats sound on Otowa Mountain Where he does sing. |
46
Left (Tie)
はるふかきいろこそなけれやまぶきのはなにこころをまづぞそめつる
| haru fukaki iro koso nakere yamabuki no hana ni kokoro o mazu zo sometsuru | In the depths of spring, Their hues, indeed, are lacking: The kerria Blooms have my heart Dyed first! |
Mitsune
31
Right
かぜふけばおもほゆるかなすみのえのきしのふぢなみいまやさくらむ
| kaze fukeba omohoyuru kana suminoe no kishi no fujinami ima ya sakuramu | When the wind blows—that Is when I wonder if at Suminoe’s Shore the wisteria waves Are blooming now? |
Prince Kaneyuki
32
Left (Win)
むさしのにいろやかよへるふぢのはなわかむらさきにそめてみゆらむ
| musashino ni iro ya kayoeru fuji no hana wakamurasaki ni somete miyuramu | On Musashi Plain Are their colours blending? The wisteria blossom has The gromwell with violet Dyed, it seems… |
29
Right
あかずしてすぎゆくはるをよぶこどりよびかへしつときてもつげなむ
| akazushite sugiyuku haru o yobukodori yobikaeshitsu to kite mo tsugenamu | Unsated by The passage of spring, The songbird Has called it back—that Is what I would have him announce! |
Okikaze 30
Left (Tie)
さくらばないかでかひとのをりてみぬのちこそまさるいろもいでこめ
| sakurabana ikadeka hito no orite minu nochi koso masaru iro mo idekome | O, cherry blossom! Why would people Pick you—can not they see that ‘Tis later that your best Hues will emerge? |
Mitsune
15
Right
うたたねのゆめにやあるらむさくらばなはかなくみてぞやみぬべらなる
| utatane no yume ni ya aruramu sakurabana hakanaku mite zo yaminuberanaru | Dozing fitfully In my dreams might there be Cherry blossom? A brief glimpse, that Can be held right here… |
Mitsune
16
Left
いそのかみふるのやまべのさくらばなこぞみしはなのいろやのこれる
| isonokami furu no yamabe no sakurabana kozo mishi hana no iro ya nokoreru | In Isonokami At Furu, on the mountainside is Cherry blossom— The flowers I did see last year: Are their hues lingering on? |
Suekata[i]
7
Right
ほどもなくちりなむものをさくらばなここらひささもまたせつるかな
| hodo mo naku chirinamu mono o sakurabana kokora hisasa mo matasetsuru kana | Before a moment’s gone Seem to scatter The cherry blossoms, after Everyone forever Having made to wait! |
Ise
8
The Left only shows affection for the past year, and lacks a conception of the current one—a loss.
[i] Suekata 季方.The identity of this poet is unclear. Hagitani (1963, 174) suggests he could have been the son of any one of a number of nobles: Prince Koga 興我王 (dates unknown); Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 藤原敏行 (?-901/07); Fujiwara no Sugane 藤原菅根 (856-908); or the younger brother of Taira no Atsuyuki 平篤行 (?-910).
Marlberry
Left
あさごとにきりはふれどもあしひきのやまたち花はいろもかはらず
| asa goto ni kiri wa furedomo ashihiki no yamatachibana wa iro mo kawarazu | With every morning The mist rolls down, yet on The leg-wearying Mountains, the marlberry’s Hues remain unchanged. |
13
Right
みねだにやすみうくならんあしひきのやまたち花のみやまゐをせる
| mine dani ya sumi’ukunaran ashihiki no yamatachibana no miyamai o seru | Does even the peak Seem so hard to dwell upon? The leg-wearying Mountain marlberry has Turned the hidden spring a darker hue. |
14