Left
あかずしてわかれにしかばあまのがはこひしきせのみおもほゆるかな
| akazushite wakarenishikaba ama no gawa koishiki se nomi omohoyuru kana | Unsatisfied Have they parted, so At the River of Heaven’s Rapids, their loving meeting alone Does fill their thoughts! |
3
Right (Win)
たなばたのまれにあふよのしののめのみえぬばかりぞきりはふらまし
| tanabata no mare ni au yo no shinonome no mienu bakari zo kiri wa furamashi | The Weaver Maid Has but a rare night’s meeting, so At the edge of dawn That it simply not be seen She wishes for the fog to fall. |
4
Round Eleven
Tanabata
Left (Win)
七夕はたえぬ契りをうれしともこよひばかりやおもひしるらん
| tanabata wa taenu chigiri o ureshi tomo koyoi bakari ya omoishiruran | The Weaver Maid’s Unending vow is A source of joy, yet Is it only on this night That she truly feels it? |
Shun’e
21
Right
天の河わたるこよひや七夕は中中袖をぬらさざるらん
| ama no kawa wataru koyoi ya tanabata wa nakanaka sode o nurasazaruran | The River of Heaven Does she cross tonight, so The Weaver Maid Truly, her sleeves Dampens not, I think! |
Yorisuke
22
Left (Tie)
をしとおもふ心ぞふかき天の河ながれて秋のとまるなるらん
| oshi to omou kokoro zo fukaki ama no kawa nagarete aki no tomaru naruran | Feelings of regret Lie deep upon my heart; The River of Heaven’s Flow autumn Does seem to halt. |
13
Right
いづくへかあきはゆくらんつのくにのながらへゆくときかばたのまん
| izuku e ka aki wa yukuran tsu no kuni no nagara e yuku to kikaba tanoman | Where might it be that Autumn does go? To the land of Tsu, To Nagara it goes— If you hear that, then put your trust in it! |
14
Left
白露ぞ霜となりける冬のよはあまの河さへ水こほりけり
| shiratsuyu zo shimo to narikeru fuyu no yo wa ama no kawa sae mizu kōrikeri | Silver dewdrops Have turned to frost On this winter’s night Even the River of Heaven’s Waters have frozen. |
153
Right
冬の海に降りいる雪やそこにゐて春たつ浪の花とさくらん
| fuyu no umi ni furi’iru yuki ya soko ni ite haru tatsu nami no hana to sakuran | Upon the sea in winter, Falling down, is the snow: Does it rest upon the bed and With the waves breaking in springtime Bloom into blossom? |
154
Winter Poems Twenty Rounds
Left
かきくもりあられふりしけ白玉をしける庭とも人の見るがに
| kakikumori arare furishike shiratama o shikeru niwa to mo hito no miru gani | Clouds rush in Dropping scattered hailstones; Pearl Strewn, my garden I would that he would see… |
119
Right
天の河ふゆは空までこほるらし石間にたぎつ音だにもせず
| ama no kawa fuyu wa sora made kōrurashi iwama ni tagitsu oto dani mo sezu | The River of Heaven in Winter: the very skies Seem frozen, with Between the rocky crags rushing No sound at all. |
120
Left
なつの夜は水やまされる天の河ながるる月のかげもとどめぬ
| natsu no yo wa mizu ya masareru ama no kawa nagaruru tsuki no kage mo todomenu | On a summer night Is it that the waters are so fine Of the River of Heaven? Drifting, the moon’s Face, too, tarries not. |
61[1]
Right
去年の夏鳴きふるしてし郭公それかあらぬかこゑのかはらぬ
| kozo no natsu nakifurusiteshi hototogisu sore ka aranu ka koe no kawaranu | Last summer Did you sing as if there’d be no other, O, cuckoo; Is it you, or another, For your song is quite unchanged. |
62[2]
[1] A minor variant of this poem, with a headnote identifying it as being from this contest, is included in Shokugosenshū (IV: 214): 夏の夜は水まさればやあまのがはながるる月のかげもとどめぬ natsu no yo wa / mizu masareba ya / ama no kawa / nagaruru tsuki no / kage mo todomenu ‘On a summer night / Perhaps, because the waters are so fine / Of the River of Heaven? / Drifting, the moon’s / Face, too, tarries not.’
[2] Kokinshū III: 159/Shinsen man’yōshū 63
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
夏の夜は水まさればやあまのがはながるる月のかげもとどめぬ
| natsu no yo wa mizu masareba ya ama no kawa nagaruru tsuki no kage mo todomenu | On a summer night Perhaps, because the waters are so fine Of the River of Heaven? Drifting, the moon’s Face, too, tarries not. |
Anonymous
あきかぜになみやたつらんあまのがはすぐるまもなくつきのながるる
| akikaze ni nami ya tatsuramu ama no kawa sukuru ma mo naku tsuki no nagaruru | Might it be the autumn wind that Has raised the waves upon The River of Heaven? There’s no space to pass for The moon, flowing by… |
61
つき見ればちぢにものこそかなしけれ我がみひとつのあきにはあらねど
| tsuki mireba chiji ni mono koso kanashikere wa ga mi hitotsu no aki ni wa aranedo | When I gaze upon the moon So many are my sources of Sadness; Though, it is not I, alone, who Is faced with autumn… |
62
なにしおはばしひてたのまむをみなへしひとのこころのあきはうくとも[1]
| na ni shi owaba shiite tanomamu ominaeshi hito no kokoro no aki wa uku tomo | If the name fits, then Strongly, would I ask you, Maidenflower: Though folk’s full hearts In autumn, be cruel… |
37
あきのよをひとりねたらむあまのがはふちせたどらずいざわたりなむ
| aki no yo o hitori netaramu ama no kawa fuchise tadorazu iza watarinamu | On an autumn night, I sleep alone, it seems, for To the River of Heaven’s Depths and shallows I will not make my way— However can I cross them? |
39
[1] Shinchokusenshū 242; also a minor variant occurs in Kokin rokujō (3368) なにしおはばしひてたのまんをみなへし花の心の秋はうくともna ni shi owaba / shiite tanomamu / ominaeshi / hana no kokoro no / aki wa uku tomo ‘If the name fits, then / Forcefully, would I trust you, / Maidenflower: / Though a flower’s heart / In autumn, be cruel…’ Tsurayuki.