When the moon was shining brightly, when a shower-filled sky had cleared.
五月雨の空だにすめる月影に涙の雨ははるるまもなし
| samidare no sora dani sumeru tsukikage ni namida no ame wa haruru ma mo nashi | Showers filled The sky, yet even they end with bright Moonlight, yet The rainfall of my tears Clears for not a moment. |
Akazome Emon
Composed on summer rain for a poetry match, after the Thirty Day Sutra Recitation[1] held at the residence of the Uji Former Grand Minister[2].
さみだれにみづのみまきのまこも草かりほすひまもあらじとぞおもふ
| samidare ni midu no mimaki no makomogusa kariFosu Fima mo arazi to zo omoFu | In the summer rain At Mizu, the royal pasture grows Wild rice, but To reap and dry it no time There is at all, I feel! |
Sagami
[1] The Thirty Day Sutra Recitation (Sanjikkō 三十講)was an event where the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings (Ananta Nirdeśa Sūtra; Jp. Muryōgi-kyō 無量義経), the twenty-eight fascicles of the Lotus Sutra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram; Jp. Hokke-kyō 法華経) and the Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra (Jp. Kanfugen-kyō 観普賢経) were read aloud over thirty consecutive days, or occasionally over fifteen consecutive days with readings each morning and evening.
[2] Fujiwara no Yorimichi 藤原頼通 (992-1074)
The End of Summer
Left
なくこゑはするものからに身はむなしあなおぼつかなうつせみのよや
| naku koe wa suru mono kara ni mi wa munashi ana obotsukana utsusemi no yo ya | Their voices sing And yet Their flesh is empty— O, how strange is A cicada shell world! |
Tadamine
9
Right (Win)
ほととぎすをちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみのさみだれのこゑ
| hototogisu ochikaeri nake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no koe | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: The song of a summer shower. |
Mitsune
10
Around the last day of the Fifth Month, when she had been lying awake all night, filled with gloomy thoughts.
限りあればこよひにつきぬさみだれも身をしるあめはいつかをやまん
| kagiri areba koyoi ni tsukinu samidare mo mi o shiru ame wa itsuka o yaman | All things have an end, so This night’s endless Showers— The rainfall of my misery— O, when might they cease to fall? |
Lady Aki, in service to the Empress Ikuhōmon’in
郁芳門院安芸
Left
草しげみ下葉かれ行く夏の日もわくとしわけば袖やひちなん
| kusa shigemi shitaba kareyuku natsu no hi mo waku to shi wakeba sode ya hichinan | The grass is thick, with Underleaves withering In the summer sun, but When I try to forge on through, Will my sleeves seem soaked? |
53
Right
五月雨に物思ひをればほととぎす夜ぶかく鳴きていづち行くらん
| samidare ni mono’omoi oreba hototogisu yo fukaku nakite izuchi yukuramu | When in the drizzling rain, I’m sunk in gloomy thoughts, A cuckoo Sings in night’s depths: And where might it be going? |
Tomonori
54[1]
[1] Kokinshū III: 153/Shinsen man’yōshū 47/Kokin rokujō VI: 4441
Round Five
Left (Win)
なつの夜のふすかとすればほととぎす鳴く一声に明くるしののめ
| natsu no yo no fusu ka to sureba hototogisu naku hitogoe ni akuru shinonome | On summer nights, I’m wondering whether to go to bed, when A cuckoo’s Single call Brightens the dawn. |
Ki no Tsurayuki
9
Right
郭公をちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみの五月雨の空
| hototogisu ochikaerinake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no sora | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: A summer shower fills the skies. |
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune 10[1]
[1] Shūishū II: 116: For a poetry contest at Sadafun’s house.
おもひやれとはで程ふる五月雨に独やどもる袖の雫を
| omoiyare towade hodo furu samidare ni hitori yado moru sode no shizuku o | Lost in thoughts of you, Time without a visit passes by As a summer shower In my lonely home leaks Droplets on my sleeves… |
Lady Higo
25
In reply
世とともにさてのみこそはすぐししか思ひしりぬや袖の雫を
| yo to tomo ni sate nomi koso wa sugushishika omoishirinu ya sode no shizuku o | Together with the world All stayed the same As it passed by; Could I be ignorant of The droplets on your sleeves? |
The Middle Counsellor
26
At a time when he produced a Hundred Poem Sequence, His Majesty composed this as a poem on orange blossoms.
五月雨にはなたちばなのかをる夜は月すむ秋もさもあらばあれ
| samidare ni hanatachibana no kaoru yo wa tsuki sumu aki mo sa mo araba are | Early summer showers fall, and Orange blossom Scents the night; The clear, bright moon of autumn Hardly seems to match it… |
Emperor Sutoku
Composed on early summer rain, while at the estate of Minister of the Emperor’s Household Tsunenaga at Katsurayama.
梅雨は見えし小笹の原もなしあさかの沼の心地のみして
| samidare Fa miesi wozasa no Fara mo nasi asaka no numa no kokoti nomi site |
Summer showers Have I seen, but broad-leaved bamboo Groves are there none; Asaka marsh is Simply what this feels like! |
Fujiwara no Norinaga
藤原範永