Tag Archives: lord

GSIS VII: 450

Composed for the Palace Poetry Match in Shōryaku 2 [1078].

君が世はつきじとぞおもふかみかぜやみもすそ川のすまむかぎりは

kimi ga yo wa
tsukiji to zo omou
kamikaze ya
mimosusogawa no
sumamu kagiri wa
My Lord’s reign
Shall never end, I feel!
While beneath the divine winds
The Mimosuso River[i]
Is clear!

Minister of Justice Tsunenobu

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

[i] The Mimosuso River (mimosugawa 御裳濯川) is the name given to the Isuzu River (isuzugawa 五十鈴川) as it flows past the Grand Shrine of Ise, which is dedicated to the ancestral deity of the imperial house, Amaterasu ōmikami 天照大神.

Teiji-in uta’awase 30

Left (Tie)

あふことのきみにたえにしわがみよりいくらのなみだながれいでぬらむ

au koto no
kimi ni taenishi
wa ga mi yori
ikura no namida
nagare’idenuramu
My meetings with
You, my lord, have ceased, and
From my flesh
What a torrent of tears
Flow out!

Ise

59

Right

きみこひのあまりにしかばしのぶれどひとのしるらんことのわびしさ

kimi koi no
amari nishikaba
shinoburedo
hito no shiruran
koto no wabishiki
Loving you
Beyond all measure,
I kept it secret, yet
That folk seem to know
Is a cause of heartache.

Tsurayuki
60

On hearing His Highness, the Prince of the Right remark in irritation that the Left’s poem had appealed to His Majesty’s heart, His Majesty composed

ゆきかへりちどりなくなるはまゆふのこころへだてておもふものかは

yukikaeri
chidori naku naru
hamayū no
kokoro hedatete
omou mono ka wa
Going back and forth
Plovers cry from
The beach among the spider lilies
Do their hearts distinguish
Do you think?

His Majesty
61

KKS VIII: 397

One day, he was summoned to the Thunder Pavilion to take wine with His Majesty; rain was falling fiercely as evening drew on and when he rose to take his leave, he took his wine-cup and…

秋はぎの花をば雨にぬらせども君をばましてをしとこそおもへ

aki Fagi no
Fana woba ame ni
nurasedomo
kimi woba masite
osi to koso omoFe
The autumn bush clover’s
Blooms by the raindrops
Have been soaked, yet,
My lord, far more
Do I regret leaving you.

Tsurayuki

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 25

やをとめのそでかとぞみるをみなへしきみをいはひてなではじめてき

yaotome no
sode ka to zo miru
ominaeshi
kimi o iwaite
nadehajimeteki
As eight sacred maidens’
Sleeves do they appear,
The maidenflowers,
Celebrating our Lord’s reign
With a first gentle touch.

49

うゑながらかつはたのまずをみなへしうつろふあきのほどしなければ

uenagara
katsu wa tanomazu
ominaeshi
utsurou aki no
hodo shi nakereba
I planted them, yet
Still unreliable are
The maidenflowers, for
They fade and autumn
Is nothing but brief…

50

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 11

Left         Final Round

をみなへしこのあきまでぞまさるべきつゆをもぬきてたまにまどはせ

ominaeshi
kono aki made zo
masarubeki
tsuyu o mo nukite
tama ni madowase
The maidenflowers
This autumn
Have been fine, indeed—
Strung with dewdrops
As pearls let you be!

His Majesty
21[1]

Right

きみによりのべをはなれしをみなへしおなじこころにあきをとどめよ

kimi ni yori
nobe o hanareshi
ominaeshi
onaji kokoro ni
aki o todomeyo
For My Lord
Have you left your meadows,
O, maidenflower,
Wishing as we,
Autumn—hold here!

Her Majesty, the Empress

22[2]

The flowers of the Right were inferior, but the poems of the Right won.


[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 528

[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 548

SSIS X: 726

Composed at the Kameyama mansion, in the Eighth Month, Kenji 2 [September 1276], when the first topic announced was ‘the colour of pines floating on a pond’.

池水に松のちとせをうつしても君にふたたびあふがうれしさ

ikemizu ni
matsu no chitose o
utsushitemo
kimi ni futatabi
au ga ureshiki
In the pond waters
The pine’s thousand years
Are reflected, yet
Once more, my Lord,
To meet you brings me joy!

The Regent and Former Prime Minister
摂政前太政大臣

MYS VIII: 1576

[One of] Seven poems composed at a banquet at the residence of the Tachibana Minister of the Right.

この岡に小鹿踏み起しうかねらひかもかもすらく君故にこそ

kono woka ni
osika pumi’okosi
ukanerapi
kamokamo suraku
kimi yuwe ni koso
Upon this hill
My tread has awoken the fauns
While sighting my aim;
Everything and anything we do
Is for you, my Lord.

Kosobe no Shitsuma
巨曽倍津嶋

Shiki koi sanshu uta’awase – Spring

Spring

Left

春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ

haru no tatsu
kasumi no koromo
ura mo naku
toshi o hete koso
hana no chirikere
Spring does sew
A robe of haze
Without an underlay,
The year passes by in
A scattering of blossom

1

春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる

haru no no no
yuki ma o wakete
itsushika to
kimi ga tame to zo
wakana tsumitsuru
Across the springtime meadows
Do I forge between the snows,
Eagerly, so eagerly,
For you, my Lord,
Have I gathered fresh herbs!

2

春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを

harugasumi
kasumi kometaru
yamazato wa
kōri toku tomo
kage wa mieji o
The haze of spring
Blurs all around
A mountain retreat,
Even were the ice to melt
I could see no sign of it!

3

Right

梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する

ume ga e ni
ki’iru uguisu
toshigoto ni
hana no nioi o
akanu koesuru
Upon the plum tree’s branches
Has come to rest the warbler;
Every single year, that
Of the blossoms’ scent
He cannot get his fill he sings.

4

桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで

sakurairo ni
hana saku ame wa
furinu tomo
chishio zo somete
utsurou na sode
Cherry-coloured
Blossoms flower, as the rain
Falls on, yet
Dyed a thousand times
Fade not, o, my sleeves!

5

青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ

aoyagi no
ito harubaru to
midori naru
yukusue made mo
omoi koso yare
The willow’s
Branches dangle lengthily
So green
Right to the very end
Will I fondly think of you.

6