Tag Archives: man

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 07

Round Seven

Left (Win)

萩がはな分けゆく程は古郷へかへらぬ人もにしきをぞきる

hagi ga hana
wakeyuku hodo wa
furusato e
kaeranu hito mo
nishiki o zo kiru
When through the bush-clover blooms
He forges his way,
To his ancient home
Never to return—that man, too,
Wears a fine brocade!

Minamoto no Arifusa, Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division

13

Right

声たてて鳴くむしよりも女郎花いはぬ色こそ身にはしみけれ

koe tatete
naku mushi yori mo
ominaeshi
iwanu iro koso
mi ni wa shimikere
They lift their songs in
Plaintive cries, but far more than the insects
‘Tis the maidenflower’s
Wordless hue that truly
Pierce my soul!

Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs Sadanaga
14

The Left is well-composed, but what is the Right’s ‘wordless hue’? Are we supposed to imagine that the expression means ‘silent yellow’? This is difficult to grasp, isn’t it. Whatever way you look at it, the Left seems to win.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 16

Round Sixteen

The Moon

Left (Tie)

今よりはふけ行くまでに月はみしその事となく涙おちけり

ima yori wa
fukeyuku made ni
tsuki wa mishi
sono koto to naku
namida ochikeri
From now
Until it set,
Did I gaze upon the moon
Had it not been there, then
Would have my tears fell.

Lord Kiyosuke
31

Right

待つ人のこぬもおもへばつらからずねなばこよひの月をみましや

matsu hito no
konu mo omoeba
tsurakarazu
nenaba koyoi no
tsuki o mimashi ya
The man I await
Has failed to come, I think, but
I’ll not be downcast, for
Had I to bed tonight
Would I have gazed upon the moon?

Kūnin
32

Both have deep feeling—it really is impossible to distinguish them.

SKKS XI: 1014

Sent to the house of a lady whom another man was visiting regularly.

われならぬ人に心をつくば山したにかよはむ道だにやなき

ware naranu
hito ni kokoro o
tsukubayama
shita ni kayowamu
michi dani ya naki
‘Tis not I, but
Another man your heart
Holds close—Tsukuba Mountain
Has secret paths to go back and forth,
But is there none for me?

Lord Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu

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

KYS II: 91

Composed on the conception of love at the end of the Third Month.

春はをし人はこよひとたのむればおもひわづらふ今日のくれかな

Faru Fa wosi
Fito Fa koyoi to
tanomureba
omoFiwazuraFu
keFu no kure kana
Regretting the departure of spring, and
Tonight, my man
Expecting,
Wracked with painful thoughts
Does today reach its dusk!

The Minister of the Centre

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

SZS XIV: 843

Sent as a reply to someone who said he would visit, after failing to come for a long time.

おもひいでてたれをか人のたづねましうきにたへたるいのちならずは

omoFi’idete
tare wo ka Fito no
tadunemasi
uki ni taFetaru
inoti narazu Fa
Thinking back,
Who is this man
Seeking to come a’visiting?
Ever enduring cruelty is
Not how I spend my life…

Handmaid Koshikibu

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

GSS I: 38

He had paid a visit to the house of an acquaintance where there was a plum tree. ‘When it blooms, I will certainly invite you to come,’ he was told, but when no letter arrived…

梅花今は盛りになりぬらんたのめし人のをとづれもせぬ

mume no Fana
ima Fa sakarini
narinuran
tanomesi Fito no
wotodure mo senu
The plum blossom
Is now profusely
Blooming, it seems, but
From the man I trusted
Comes no note, at all…

The Suzakuin Prince and Minister for War [Atsukata/Atsumoto]