Round Nine: Quiet thoughts at Tanabata
Left
八重葎しげる軒ばをかき分けて星合の空をながめつるかな
yae mugura
shigeru nokiba o
kakiwakete
hoshiai no sora o
nagametsuru kana | Eightfold thickets
Grow lushly beneath my eaves;
Pulling them apart upon
The sky of trysting stars
Will I turn my gaze! |
Taira no Sadatsugu[1]
17
Right
七夕のあふよの程は思ひやる心さへこそ空にすみけれ
tanabata no
au yo no hodo wa
omoiyaru
kokoro sae koso
sora ni sumikere | Tanabata is
A night for meeting—throughout it
I am filled with longing:
Even my very heart
Does dwell among the skies. |
Fujiwara no Kaneyuki[2]
18
[1] Taira no Sadatsugu 平貞継. The identity of this individual is unclear. This poem is his sole appearance in a poetry contest.
[2] 藤原兼行
Ancient Estates 故郷
むぐらはひよもぎがそまとあれはててふりにし里は人かげもせず
mugurahai
yomogi ga soma to
arehatete
furinishi sato wa
hitokage mo sezu | Creepers crawl around
The mugwort and brushwood
Desolate and wild;
At this aged estate
There is no trace of anyone, at all. |
Higo
Ancient Estates 故郷
八重むぐらへだてつつふる故郷にいづくぞとだにとふ人もなし
yaemugura
hedatetsutsu furu
furusato ni
izuku zo to dani
tou hito mo nashi | With eightfold layers of tangled creepers
Interfering, of the old,
Ancient estate
Not even where it lies
Is asked by anyone at all. |
Akinaka
山里の葎の垣に這ふ蔦の色にて秋の深きをぞ知る
yamazato no
mugura no kaki ni
hau tsuta no
iro nite aki no
fukaki wo zo shiru |
Upon this moutain hut’s
Weed-tangled fence
Trails ivy:
Its hue autumn’s
Depth does reveal! |
Higo
京極関白家肥後
On fresh growth by creepers: meeting at a meagre hut.
いも植て門は葎のわか葉哉
imo uete
kado wa mugura no
wakaba kana |
Potatoes planted, and
By the door the creepers’
Leaves are everywhere. |
(1688)
'Simply moving and elegant'