Round 8
Left
花の色はかすみのひまにほのみえて山のはにほふ春の暁
hana no iro wa kasumi no hima ni honomiete yama no ha niou haru no akebono The blossoms’ hues Between the shifting haze I briefly glimpse, and The mountains’ edges glow With the dawn in springtime.
325
Right
あだし夜の花にとききてゆく雁の名残もいとど有明のそら
adashiyo no hana ni toki kite yuku kari no nagori mo itdodo ariake no sora To fleeting night’s Blossoms has the time come, and The departing geese leave A keepsake more brief In the skies at dawn.
326
This round, again, it seems difficult to distinguish between the the two poems.
Former Emperor Gosukō (1372-1456) 後崇光院
Left
月夜には花とぞ見ゆる竹のうへに降りしく雪を誰かはらはむ
tsukiyo ni wa hana to zo miyuru take no ue ni furishiku yuki o tare ka harawamu On a moonlit night As blossom it appears, so From the bamboo The fallen, scattered, snow— Who would sweep it away?
151
Right
しら雪を分けてわかるるかたみには袖に涙のこほるなりけり
shirayuki o wakete wakaruru katami ni wa sode ni namida no kōru narikeri That through the snow so white I pressed on, forging, A keepsake is The tears upon my sleeves, All frozen.
152
Left
春霞色の千ぐさにみえつるはたなびく山の花のかげかも
harugasumi iro no chigusa ni mieturu wa tanabiku yama no hana no kage kamo The haze of spring has Countless hues It does appear; Streaming across the mountains with The blossoms’ glow.
Okikaze
37[1]
Right
日くるればかつちる花をあたらしみ春のかたみにつみぞいれつる
hi kurureba katsu chiru hana o atarashimi haru no katami ni tsumi zo iretsuru When the sun goes down, With the scattering blossoms Feel renewed— As a keepsake of spring Have I plucked them up!
38
[1] Kokinshū II: 102/Shinsen man’yōshū 25/Kokin rokujō I: 620
Left
水のうへにあやおりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべてそむらん
mizu no ue ni aya orimidaru harusame ya yama no midori o nabete somuran Upon the waters A confusing pattern paints The rain of spring— Will it now the mountains All dye with green, I wonder?
19[1]
Right
色ふかくみる野辺だにも常ならば春は行くともかたみならまし
iro fukaku miru nobe dani mo tsune naraba haru wa yuku tomo katami naramashi Deep the hues On display within the meadows—if that Should be the norm, then Even when the spring is gone A keepsake they would be.
20[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 1/Kokin rokujō I: 460/A minor variant of this poem also occurs in Shinkokinshū (I: 65), where it is attributed to Ise: 水のおもにあやおりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべてそむらん mizu no omo ni / aya orimidaru / harusame ya / yama no midori o / nabete somuran ‘Upon the water’s surface / A confusing pattern paints / The rain of spring— / Will it now the mountains / All dye with green, I wonder?’
[2] Shinchokusenshū II: 89
Topic unknown.
おほぞらはこひしき人のかたみかは物思ふごとにながめらるらむ
oFozora Fa koFisiki Fito no katami ka Fa mono’omoFu goto ni nagameraruramu In the endless skies Does my darling’s Keepsake lie? For every time my gloom consumes me I seem to gaze upon them…
Sakai no Hitozane
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
色ふかくみる野辺だにも常ならば春は行くともかたみならまし
iro fukaku miru nobe dani mo tsune naraba haru wa yuku tomo katami naramashi Deep the hues On display within the meadows—if that Should be the norm, then Even when the spring is gone A keepsake they would be.
Anonymous
The Empress Dowager’s reply:
みづのえのかたみとおもへどうぐひすの花のくしげはあけてだにみず
midu no e no katami to omoFedo uguFisu no Fana no kusige Fa akete dani mizu By the waters’ edge A keepsake, I thought this was, yet The warbler’s Comb box of blossom on Opening, I see not within…
The Shichijō Empress
A poem from the Poetry Contest held at the Palace of Former Emperor Uda.
さくら花ちりぬるかぜのなごりには水なき空に浪ぞたちける
sakurabana tirinuru kaze no nagori ni Fa midu naki sora ni nami zo tatikeru Cherry blossoms Scattered, the wind Leaves a keepsake In the waterless sky of A wave of broken petals.
Tsurayuki
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
梅が香を袖にうつしてとどめてば春は過ぐとも形見ならまし
mume ga ka wo sode ni utusite todometeba Faru Fa sugutomo katami naramasi If only the plums’ scent Would shift to my sleeves and Stay there, then Even when spring is past and gone A keepsake would it be…
Anonymous
In return.
何にかは袖の濡るらん白浪の名残有りげも見えぬ心を
nani ni ka Fa
sode no nururan
siranami no
nagori arige mo
mienu kokoro wo
For what
Should my sleeves seem so wet?
The whitecaps
Must have left a keepsake
Unseen, in my heart…
Taiyu
大輔
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