Left
足引の山のかけはし冬くればこほりのうへをよきぞかねつる
| ashihiki no yama no kakehashi fuyu kureba kōri no ue o yoki zo kanetsuru | To the leg-wearying Mountain plankways, When the winter comes The ice atop them Is difficult to avoid! |
147
Right
ふゆくれば雪ふりつもる高きみね立つ白雲に見えまがふかな
| fuyu kureba yuki furitsumoru takaki mine tatsu shirakumo ni miemagau kana | When the winter comes The snow fallen, piled high upon The lofty peaks With the rising clouds so white Is easy to confuse! |
148
Left
あきの野の草のたもとか花薄ほに出でてまねく袖とみゆらん
| aki no no no kusa no tamoto ka hanasusuki ho ni idete maneku sode to miyuran | In the autumn meadows Are the grasses cuffs Fronds of silver grass? The emerging ears beckoning Sleeves do appear to be, I feel. |
Ariwara no Muneyana
86
Right
山の井は水なきごとぞみえわたる秋の紅葉のちりてかくせば
| yama no i wa mizu naki goto zo miewataru aki no momiji no chirite kakuseba | The mountain wells Lack water, every one: for Gazing across With autumn scarlet scattered Leaves they are concealed… |
Okikaze
87
Left
夏の日を暮らし侘びぬる蝉のまにわがなきそふるこゑはきこゆや[1]
| natsu no hi o kurashiwabinuru semi no ma ni wa ga nakisouru koe wa kikoyu ya | The summer sun They know not how to endure, So with the cicadas My sobbing Voice do you hear? |
59
Right
恨みつつとどむる人のなければや山時鳥うかれでてなく
| uramitsutsu todomuru hito no nakereba ya yama hototogisu ukaredete naku | How I constantly despise The one who’s staying here If he were gone, would The mountain cuckoo Have aimlessly left his home to sing? |
60
[1] The phrase semi no (‘the cicadas’) is missing from the text of the contest, but has been suggested by later scholarship.
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
まきもくのひばらの山にたちかへり見れども花におどろかれつつ
| makimoku no hibara no yama ni tachikaeri miredomo hana no odorokaretsutsu | In Makimoku among The mountain cypress groves Rising and departing, I see it, yet the blossom Ever does amaze me… |
Anonymous
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
年をへてもゆてふふじの山よりもあはぬ思ひは我ぞまされる
| toshi o hete moyu chō fuji no yama yori mo awanu omoi wa ware zo masareru | Through all the passing years Burns Fuji; Far more than the mountain, Not meeting you, the flames of passion, Burn brightly in me. |
Anonymous
From the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
神無月しぐれふるらしさほ山のまさきのかづら色まさり行く
| kaminazuki shigure fururashi saoyama no masaki no kazura iro masarikeri | In the Godless Month Showers fall, it seems, for On Sao Mountain The evergreen arrowroot’s Hues are fine, indeed. |
Anonymous
玉さかに相坂山の真葛原まだうらわかし恨みはてじな
| tamasaka ni aisakayama no makuzuwara mada urawakashi uramihateji na | By chance, On Aisaka Mountain The fields of arrowroot are Still so young— O, do not end up despising them! |
Lady Tsu, in service to the Former Kamo Virgin
33
夏山の下はふくずのうらわかみまだきに露の心おくらん
| natsuyama no shita hau kuzu no urawakami madaki ni tsuyu no kokoro okuran | On the summer mountains The arrowroot, creeping beneath, Seems so young that Swiftly will the dewdrops Fall upon its heart. |
The Minister of Justice
34
Round Thirteen
Left
うらちかくふりくる雪はしら波のすゑの松山こすかとぞみる
| ura chikaku furikuru yuki wa shiranami no sue no matsuyama kosu ka to zo miru | Close by the beach The snow comes falling upon The whitecaps—that The pine-topped peak of Sue The might o’ercome it does appear! |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
24
Right
みよしのの山の白雪つもるらしふる里さむく成りまさるなり
| miyoshino no yama no shirayuki tsumorurashi furusato samuku narimasaru nari | On fair Yoshino Mountain white snow fall Drifts high, it seems, For in this ancient place the chill Grows ever stronger. |
Sakanoue no Korenori
25[1]
[1] Kokinshū VI: 325: Composed at the place he was staying when he had gone to the Nara capital.
Winter
Round Eleven
Left
霜のうへにふる初雪の朝氷とけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
| shimo no ue ni furu hatsuyuki no asagōri tokemu hodo koso hisashikarikere | Upon the frosts Falls first snow, turning Icy in the morning; The time when it will melt is Far away, indeed. |
20[1]
Right (Win)
いつのまにふりつもりけんみよしのの山のかひよりくづれ落つる雪
| itsu no ma ni furitsumoriken miyoshino no yama no kai yori kuzure’otsuru yuki | All of a sudden Has it fallen and piled high In fair Yoshino The mountain passes are Blocked by fallen snow. |
21
[1] Kokin rokujō I: 696