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
ゆめののちむなしきとこはあらじかしあきののなかもこひしかりけり
yume no nochi munashiki toko wa araji kashi aki no no naka mo koishikarikeri After a dream of you The emptiness of my bed I feel not, I think, for Amid the autumn meadows I do love you still.
63
もみぢばのたまれるかりのなみだにはあきの月こそかげやどしけれ
momijiba no tamareru kari no namida ni wa aki no tsuki koso kage yadoshikere The scarlet leaves Clog the goose Tears, where It I the autumn moon’s Light finds lodging.
64
あきのよにかりかもなきてわたるなる我が思ふ人のことづてやせる[1]
aki no yo ni kari kamo nakite watarunaru wa ga omou hito no kotozute ya seru On an autumn night Is that the geese a’crying As they pass by? There is one I love— Would you take a message to her?
43
おく露にくちゆくのべのくさのはやあきのほたるとなりわたるらむ[2]
oku tsuyu ni kuchiyuku nobe no kusa no ha ya aki no hotaru to nariwataruramu Dew falls on The rotting meadows, where The blades of grass with The tired autumn fireflies Do seem to sound…
44
[1] A minor variant of this poem is included in Gosenshū (VII: 356 ), where it is attributed to [Ki no] Tsurayuki.
[2] This poem is included in Fubokushō (5548), where it is attributed to [Mibu no] Tadamine.
あきくればむしとともにぞなかれぬるひとも草ばもかれぬと思へば[1]
aki kureba mushi to tomo ni zo nakarenuru hito mo kusaba mo karenu to omoeba When the autumn comes Together with the insects Do I weep, That both folk and grass and leaves Have withered, is in my thoughts…
33
からにしきみだれるのべとみえつるはあきのこのはのふるにざりける
karanishiki midareru nobe to mietsuru wa aki no ko no ha no furu ni zarikeru For Cathay brocade Confused the meadows Do seem, for In autumn, the leaves from the trees Have truly fallen!
34
[1] This poem also occurs in Fubokushō (5580).
しら露のおきしくのべを見るごとにあはれは秋ぞかずまさりける
shiratsuyu no okishiku nobe o miru goto ni aware wa aki zo kazu masarikeru Silver dewdrops, Fallen, scattered upon the meadows: Every time I see them The sadnesses of autumn Increase in number.
31
あきかぜのうちふくからにはなもはもみだれてもちるのべの草きか
aki kaze no uchifuku kara ni hana mo ha mo midarete mo chiru nobe no kusaki ka The autumn breeze Is blowing keenly, so will Both flowers and leaves Scatter confusedly From the trees and grasses on the meadow?
32
A profusion of deutzia flowers in full bloom
Left
白妙に卯花さけるかきねをばつもりし雪とおもひけるかな
shirotae ni u no hana sakeru kakine o ba tsumorishi yuki to omoikeru kana A spread of white mulberry cloth, The deutzias have bloomed Along my brushwood fence Drifting snow is piled, or So it seems!
Minamoto no Narikata 13
Right
みわたせばたかねののべのうつぎ原みな白妙にさきにけるかな
miwatseba takane no nobe no utsugiwara mina shirotae ni sakinikeru kana When I gaze across The high-peak meadows A field of deutzia, All as white as mulberry cloth, Have bloomed there.
Ōe no Fumi’ichi 14
上野阿蘇山つづら野を広み延ひにしものをあぜか絶えせむ
kamituke no aso yama tudura no wo piromi papinisi mono wo aze ka taesemu In Kamitsuke Upon Aso Mountain the moonseed Covers all the meadows; It stretches so far— How ever can it be cut?
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
春の野に若菜つまむと来し物をちりかふ花に道はまどひぬ
Faru no no ni wakana tumamu to koshi mono wo tirikaFu Fana ni miti Fa madoFinu To the meadows in springtime Thinking to pick fresh herbs Did I come, but Amongst the scattered blossom Have I lost my way.
Tsurayuki
Left (Win)
唐国の虎臥す野邊に入るよりもまどふ戀路の末ぞあやうき
karakuni no
tora fusu nobe ni
iru yori mo
madou koiji no
sue zo ayauki
In far Cathay are
Meadows where tigers lie,
But rather than entering there,
The confusing paths of love
Are, at the end, more dangerous…
Lord Ari’ie
1063
Right
我宿は人もかれ野の淺茅原通ひし駒の跡もとゞめず
wa ga yado wa
hito mo kareno no
asajiwara
kayoishi koma no
ato mo todomezu
At my home
Is only a withered field
Of cogon grass;
The mount who once did cross it
Has left no lingering tracks…
Ietaka
1064
The Gentlemen of the Right state: how can love be dangerous? The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.
In judgement: saying that the ‘paths of love are, at the end’ (koiji no sue ) dangerous is perfectly commonplace. ‘Is only a withered field of cogon grass’ (hito mo kareno no asajiwara ) seems to simply have taken the poem ‘Sedge fields lie / Around the estate of Fushimi, / All long overgrown; / He who passed across them / Has left no tracks at all…’ and swapped in ‘mount who once did cross it’ (kayoishi koma ). Changing a man into a mount is discomposing, indeed. Again, the Left should win.
鶯の飛火野野辺の雪の内にそれかとばかり匂ふ梅が枝
uguisu no
tobubino nobe no
yuki no uchi ni
sore ka to bakari
niou ume ga e
The warbler on
The meadows of Tobuhi Plain
Among the snows
Simply wonders if
‘tis the glow of branching plum…
Gotoba
後鳥羽
Posts navigation
'Simply moving and elegant'