Left
くれぬべきあきををしめばをぐら山みねのもみぢもいろづきにけり
kurenubeki aki o oshimeba ogurayama mine no momiji mo irozukinikeri Pass into dusk must Autumn, so I regret when On Ogura Mountain The scarlet leaves on the peak Have taken on deeper hues!
33
Right
をしめども秋はとまらず女郎花野べにおくれてかれぬばかりを
oshimedomo aki wa tomarazu ominaeshi nobe ni okurete karenu bakari o I regret it, yet Autumn will not linger; O, maidenflower, Within the meadows tarry and Simply do not wither away…
34
Left
草村の心しとともにぞわたるくれはしぬべき秋のをしさに
kusamura no kokoro shi to tomo ni zo wataru kure wa shinubeki aki no oshisa ni A tangled patch of grass is My heart—together Will it cross, and with The evening pass away Amid autumn regrets…[i]
23
Right (Win)
こりずまにあひもみるかな女郎花とまらずかへる秋としるらし
korizu ma ni ai mo miru kana ominaeshi tomarazu kaeru aki to shirurashi While I do not dislike her, I will come to meet and see, My maidenflower! Not lingering, and returning Having had enough—as autumn seems to do, I know…
24
[i] The central part of this poem appears to have been corrupted as the division kokoro shi to tomo / ni zo wataru is anomalous as it places the bound morphemes ni zo at the beginning of a line. Given this, my translation is speculative.
Left
あきごとにさかずはあらねど女郎花散りゆくことはをしくぞありける
aki goto ni sakazu wa aranedo ominaeshi chiriyuku koto wa oshiku zo arikeru Every single autumn, It’s not that you bloom not, yet O, maidenflowers, That you scatter away I regret, indeed!
11
Right
めにみえてわかるる秋ををしまめやおほぞらのみぞながめらるらん
me ni miete wakaruru aki o oshimame ya ōzora nomi zo nagameraruran Before my eyes Autumn is departing— Should I regret it, or Simply to the heavens, alone, Ever turn my gaze?
12
しら露はわきてもおかじをみなへし心からにや色のそむらむ
shiratsuyu wa wakite mo okaji ominaeshi kokoro kara ni ya iro no somuramu Silver dewdrops Fall where they will, so Surely, ’tis the maidenflower’s Own heart that Stains her with such hues?
Michinaga
をみなへしさかりの色をみるからにつゆのわきける身こそしらるれ
ominaeshi sakari no iro o miru kara ni tsuyu no wakikeru mi koso shirarure This maidenflower’s Vibrant hues I see, and That the dew makes no difference To me—how well I know it!
Murasaki Shikibu
Maidenflowers
Left
なびくとや人はみるらんをみなへしおもふかたにぞかぜもふきける
nabiku to ya hito wa miruran ominaeshi omou kata ni zo kaze mo fukikeru ‘Are they trailing?’ Folk wonder at the sight of The maidenflowers, and As they thought The wind, too, was blowing…
7
Right
おほかたののべなるよりはをみなへしねやのつまにてみるはまされり
ōkata no nobe naru yori wa ominaeshi neya no tsuma nite miru wa masareri So wide are The plains, but I’d rather A maidenflower— My wife in the bedchamber: Seeing her is better far!
8
のべごとにたちかくれつつをみなへしふくあきかぜのみえずもあらなむ
nobe goto ni tachikakuretsutsu ominaeshi fuku akikaze no miezu mo aranamu In every meadow Ever hiding and appearing are Maidenflowers— O, that the gusting autumn wind Would not appear!
Ise 51
やをとめのそでかとぞみるをみなへしきみをいはひてなではじめてき
yaotome no sode ka to zo miru ominaeshi kimi o iwaite nadehajimeteki As eight sacred maidens’ Sleeves do they appear, The maidenflowers, Celebrating our Lord’s reign With a first gentle touch.
49
うゑながらかつはたのまずをみなへしうつろふあきのほどしなければ
uenagara katsu wa tanomazu ominaeshi utsurou aki no hodo shi nakereba I planted them, yet Still unreliable are The maidenflowers, for They fade and autumn Is nothing but brief…
50
をみなへしなどかあきしもにほふらむはなのこころをひともしれとか
ominaeshi nadoka aki shimo ni niouramu hana no kokoro o hito mo shire to ka O, maidenflower, Why is it that, of all, in autumn You would glow so bright? Of a fickle flower’s heart Folk to inform, perhaps…
47
てをとらばひとやとがめむをみなへしにほへるのべにやどやからまし
te o toraba hito ya togamemu ominaeshi nioeru nobe ni yado ya karamashi Should I put my hands on you, By folk would I be despised, O, maidenflower, so In the meadow where you shine Would I borrow lodging…
48
をみなへしやまののくさとふりしかどさかゆくときもありけるものを
ominaeshi yamano no kusa to furishikado sakayuku toki mo arikeru mono o The maidenflowers With the mountain meadow grasses Have grown old, yet A time to flourish Did they have once…
45[1]
をみなへしさけるやまべのあきかぜはふくゆふかげをたれかかたらむ
ominaeshi sakeru yamabe no akikaze wa fuku yūkage o tare ka kataramu A maidenflower Blooming in a mountain meadow, with The autumn wind’s Evening gusts revealed, but Who is there to tell the tale?
46
[1] This poem is almost identical to poem 4 in Uda-in ominaeshi uta’awase.
Posts navigation
'Simply moving and elegant'