Round Twelve
Left
冬の夜の月はとほくやわたりけんかげみしみづのまづしこほれば
| fuyu no yo no tsuki wa tōku ya watariken kage mishi mizu no mazu shi kōreba | On a winter’s night Does the moon distantly Pass by? For The waters where I saw its face Are the first to freeze… |
22
Right
ながれくるみづこほりぬる冬さへやなほうき草のあとはさだめぬ
| nagarekuru mizu kōrinuru fuyu sae ya nao ukikusa no ato wa sadamenu | Flowing down The waters have frozen With the winter, so will The drifting waterweed still Leave little trace? |
23
つらしともいざやいかがはいはし水あふせまだきにたゆる心は
| tsurashi to mo iza ya ikaga wa iwashimizu ause madaki ni tayuru kokoro wa | How cruel! Why as Spring waters rushing from the rocks did Our meeting swiftly Did you wish to end? |
Kazusa, in service to the Empress
23
In reply
世世ふともたえじとぞ思ふ神がきの岩ねをくぐる水の心は
| yo yo futomo taeji to zo omou kamigaki no iwane o kuguru mizu no kokoro wa | Age upon age may pass, yet Never shall we end, I feel, as from The sacred precinct’s Rocky roots flow Waters—that is my heart! |
24
This match took place when, hearing that his courtiers were composing poetry, His Majesty ordered them to compose love poems to the ladies in attendance.
おもひあまりいかでもらさんおく山の岩かきこむる谷の下みづ
| omoi’amari ikade morasan okuyama no iwa kakikomuru tani no shitamizu | My passion’s full, so How should it o’erflow? Deep within the mountains Hemmed in by crags are The waters of the valley floor… |
Major Counsellor Kinzane
1
In reply
いかなれば音にのみきく山川の浅きにしもはこころよすらん
| ika nareba oto ni nomi kiku yamakawa no asaki ni shimo wa kokoro yosuran | For some reason, I simply hear the sound Of a mountain stream; Into the shallows, indeed, has Your heart been swept, it seems! |
[Nakako,] The Suō Handmaid
2
Icicles
山ざとは谷の下水つららゐていはうつ浪の音だにもせず
| yamazato wa tani no shitamizu tsurara ite iwa utsu nami no oto dani mo sezu | At a mountain retreat The waters in the valley below Have turned to icicles, and Of waves striking the rocks There is no sound, at all. |
Morotoki
Love
Left
恋せじと御手洗川に御祓して神うけつらんとおもほゆるかな
| koi seji to mitarashigawa ni oharaishite kami uketsuran to omohoyuru kana | I’ll not fall in love, and At the River Mitarashi Purify myself— Would the gods then accept me, I wonder! |
25
恋なれどそこにもすまぬひれはみづにごれりとおもほゆるかな
| koi naredo soko ni mo sumanu hire wa mizu nigoreri to omohoyuru kana | This is love, yet The deeps are all disturbed, with Fins the waters Clouding, I feel! |
26
こひわたる程のふかさにそめ川の色あさからじとおもほゆるかな
| koiwataru hodo no fukasa ni somekawa no iro asakaraji to omohoyuru kana | So long have I loved you that The depths of Dyers’ River have Lost their pale hues I feel! |
27
Right
おもふとて夕ぐれがたのながめをや人待つほどの恋といふらん
| omou tote yūguregata no nagame o ya hito matsu hodo no koi to iuran | Thinking of him As evening draws on, and I gaze on long rains falling; is Time pining for a man Being in love, I wonder? |
28
年の内にあまる月日の有りければかぞへのうちにははわぶるかな
| toshi no uchi ni amaru tsuki hi no arikereba kazoe no uchi ni haha waburu kana | Throughout the year The days and months mount up So Counting them My mother grieves! |
29
Winter
Left
冬くれば紅葉ふりしく神無月佐保の山辺はむべもりぬらん
| fuyu kureba momiji furishiku kaminazuki saho no yamabe wa mube morinuran | When the winter comes, Scarlet leaves, falling and scattering In the Godless Month, Upon the slopes of Mount Saho, Indeed, are at their finest. |
19
冬ごもりかれてみゆらん梅がえは今はた花の春はにほはん
| fuyugomori karete miyuran ume ga e wa ima hata hana no haru wa niowan | Sealed in winter, and All withered seeming, The plum tree’s branches, Now, for sure, the blossoms’ Spring will scent. |
20
冬みれば水もまかせぬ小山田にいつすき返し種をまきけん
| fuyu mireba mizu mo makasenu oyamada ni itsu sukikaeshi tane o makiken | ‘Tis winter, I see, so There’s no water to draw for The little mountain paddies: O, when might I till them, and Sow my seeds, I wonder? |
21
Right
時雨降る宿にすまへば冬の夜に錦とみゆる木木の花かな
| shigure furu yado ni sumaeba fuyu no yo ni nishiki to miyuru kigi no hana kana | Showers fall Upon the house where I do dwell, so Upon a winter’s night As brocade do seem The blossoming trees! |
22
ゆふだすき神の社にかけつればしもし降るにもたのもしきかな
| yūdasuki kami no yashiro ni kaketsureba shimo shi furu ni mo tanomashiki kana | Sacred mulberry cords Around the God’s shrine Are hung, so Even amidst the frost fall, The future does seem bright! |
23
白雲のふたへふりしくときは山うらはへとしはみどりなりけれ
| shiragumo no futae furishiku tokiwa yama ura hae toshi wa midori narikere | Clouds of white Lie scattered, twofold, upon The unchanging mountain: Stretching out behind, the year Is simply green. |
24
たつたがはあきはみづなくあせななむあかぬもみぢのながるればをし[1]
| tatsutagawa aki wa mizu naku asena namu akanu momiji no nagarureba oshi | The river Tatsuta In autumn, lacks water and Is shallow, indeed, but though I never tire of the scarlet leaves When they flow by, how I do regret it! |
13
いなづまはあるかなきかに見ゆれどもあきのたのみはほにぞいでける
| inazuma wa aru ka naki ka ni miyuredomo aki no tanomi wa ho ni zo idekeru | A flash of lightning: It may, or may not Appear, yet In autumn you can trust that Ripened ears of rice will. |
14
[1] This poem was included in Gosenshū (VII: 416).
The depth of colour of spring waters (春水添色深)
Left (Win)
水のいろをそめては深くみゆれども春はよどまぬものにざりける
| midu no iro wo somete Fa Fukaku miyuredomo Faru Fa yodomanu mono ni zarikeru | The waters’ hues So deeply dyed Do appear that Spring ever unclouded Truly ever will be. |
3
Right
春のいろは底なき水にそへりとも流れて深くあらむとぞ思ふ
| Faru no iro Fa soko naki midu ni soFeri tomo nagarete Fukaku aramu to zo omoFu | The hue of spring across Bottomless waters Does lie, and yet How deeply must they flow I wonder? |
4
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 by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
水の面にあやをりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべて染むらん
| mizu no omo ni ayaori midaru 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? |
Ōchikōchi no Mitsune