Frost on the plain
花すすきかれたる野べにおく霜のむすぼほれつつ冬はきにけり
| hanasusuki karetaru nobe ni oku shimo no musubōretsutsu fuyu wa kinikeri | The fronds of silver grass Have withered on the plain, where Falling frost reveals That ever-gloomy Winter has come. |
Tag Archives: plain
Kinkai wakashū 275
Kinkai wakashū 229
Kinkai wakashū 200
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 27
Round Three
Left (Tie)
おきあかしくまなき月をながむれば野原の草の露もかくれず
| oki’akashi kumanaki tsuki o nagamureba nohara no kusa no tsuyu mo kakurezu | Lying awake ‘til dawn, and Upon the cloudless moon A’gazing— Upon the grasses o’er the plain Not a single dewdrop is concealed. |
Mikawa
53
Right
月をみて心をこよひつくすかなくまなき空は又もこそあれ
| tsuki o mite kokoro o koyoi tsukusu kana kumanaki sora wa mata mo koso are | Seeing the moon, Tonight, my heart Exhausts! The cloudless skies Once more are such! |
Lord Kinshige
54
The Left’s ‘lying awake ‘til dawn, gazing’ suggests that the poet is at their own residence, but then it finally turns out that they are on the plain – what to make of this? It’s also the case that the moon doesn’t necessarily always appear over the plains. This poem should really have included a clearer reason for the poet’s journey. As for the Right, while it isn’t bad, the final line certainly regrettable, so this round is a tie.
Kyōgoku no miyasudokoro uta’awase 06
Original
うぐひすのなきつるなへにかすがののけふのみゆきをはなとこそみれ
| uguisu no nakitsuru nae ni kasugano no kyō no miyuki o hana to koso mire | While the warbler Sings on Kasuga Plain Today, accompanying the progress, snow As blossom does appear.[1] |
16
Left (Win)
いまはしもはなとぞいはむかすがののはるのみゆきをなにとかは見む
| ima wa shimo hana to zo iwamu kasugano no haru no miyuki o nani to ka wa mimu | Now, of all, The blossom, I would describe, On Kasuga Plain, as Springtime progress snow— What else can I say? |
17
Right
ふるさとにゆきまじりたるはなと見ばわれにおくるなのべのうぐひす
| furusato ni yukimajiritaru hana to miba ware ni okuru na nobe no uguisu | Around the ancient capital Have I gone amidst the snow— If as blossom I did see it, then, O, don’t send me off, Warbler upon the plain! |
18
[1] SIS 1044 attributed to Fujiwara no Tadafusa ‘Headnote ‘Among the many poems presented by provincial officials, when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited Kasuga.’
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 24
Round Twelve
Left (Tie)
あらし吹くまくずが原に鳴く鹿は恨みてのみや妻をこふらん
| arashi fuku makuzu ga hara ni naku shika wa uramite nomi ya tsuma o kouran | Storm winds blow Across the arrowroot upon the plain Where bells a stag— Might it be with bitterness, alone, that He yearns for a mate? |
Shun’e
47
Right
山里は妻こひかぬる鹿の音にさもあらぬ我もねられざりけり
| yamazato wa tsuma koikanuru shika no ne ni sa mo aranu ware mo nerarezarikeri | In a mountain retreat, Filled with too much yearning for his mate A stag bells out— ‘Tis not true of me, yet Still I cannot sleep. |
Lay Priest Master
48
The Left’s stag’s bell seeming to despise the arrowroot field and the Right’s inability to sleep on hearing a stag belling at a mountain retreat are both evocative of lonely sadness and neither sounds at all inferior to the other in the depths of the emotion they convey, so I find myself quite unable to distinguish between them.
Kinkai wakashū 185
Kyōgoku no miyasudokoro uta’awase 02
Original
さくらばなみかさのやまのかげしあればゆきとふるともぬれじとぞおもふ
| sakurabana mikasa no yama no kage shi areba yuki to furutomo nureji to zo omou | When cherry blossom Upon Mikasa mountain Shows its shape, Even should snow fall, I’ll not get damp, I feel![1] |
4
Left
このまよりはなのゆきのみちりくるはみかさのやまのもるにざるべき
| ko no ma yori hana no yuki nomi chirikuru wa mikasa no yama no morunizarubeki | Between the trees Simply a snow of blossom Comes a’falling— Mikasa mountain Will certainly be covered![2] |
5
Right (Win)
かすがのにゆきとふるてふはなみにぞみかさの山をさしてきにける
| kasugano ni yuki to furu chō hanami ni zo mikasa no yama o sashite kinikeri | Upon Kasuga Plain, Snow falls, they say— Indeed, when viewing blossom On Mikasa mountain, an umbrella Raise up as you come! |
6
[1] This is included in Shūishū (XVI: 1056) as an anonymous poem under the heading ‘Topic unknown’.
[2] This poem is included in Shinsenzaishū (II: 152), as an anonymous poem with the headnote: ‘Composed in reply to “When cherry blossom / Upon Mikasa mountain / Shows its shape, / Even should snow fall, / I’ll not get damp, I feel!”, which was among twenty-one poems by provincial officials, when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber went to Kasuga.’
Kyōgoku no miyasudokoro uta’awase 01
Original
めづらしきけふのかすがのやをとめをかみもこひしとしのばざらめや
| mezurashiki kyō no kasuga no yaotome o kami mo koishi to shinobazarame ya | Charming, Today at Kasuga Were maidens eight— Would the deity, too, such yearning Be unable to recall?[1] |
1
In reply:
Left (Tie)
やをとめをかみししのばばゆふだすきかけてぞこひむけふのくれなば
| yaotome o kami shi shinobaba yūdasuki kakete zo koimu kyō no kurenaba | If maidens eight The deity does recall, then Cords of mulberry cloth Would he hang that on this beloved Day evening should not fall… |
2
Right
ちはやぶるかみしゆるさばかすがのにたつやをとめのいつかたゆべき
| chihayaburu kami shi yurusaba kasuga no ni tatsu yaotome no itsuka tayubeki | Should the mighty Deity permit, Upon Kasuga plain Stand maidens eight— How long would they endure? |
3
[1] A variant of this poem occurs in Shūishū: Composed when officials from the provinces presented twenty-one poems on the occasion of an imperial progress to Kasuga by the former Teiji Emperor in Engi 20: めづらしきけふのかすがのやをとめを神もうれしとしのばざらめや mezurashiki / kyō no kasuga no / yaotome o / kami mo ureshi to / shinobazareme ya ‘Charming, / Today at Kasuga / Were maidens eight— / Would the deity, too, such joy / Be unable to recall?’ Fujiwara no Tadafusa (SIS X: 620)