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
五月雨は水上まさる泉川笠置の山も雲隠れつつ
samidare wa
minakami masaru
izumigawa
kasaki no yama mo
kumogakuretsutsu |
In the drizzling rain
The waters are high
Upon the River Izumi;
Mount Kasagi, too,
Is hidden by the clouds. |
Fujiwara no Shunzei
藤原俊成
真菰草高瀬の淀に茂れども末葉も見えぬ五月雨のころ
makomogusa
takase no yodo ni
shigeredomo
sueba mo mienu
samidare no koro |
The rushes
Where the Yodo meets Takase
Are lush, indeed, yet
The fronds are hidden
In this time of showers… |
Taikenmon’in horikawa
待賢門院堀河
いかにして真菰を刈らむ五月雨に高瀬の淀も水まさりけり
ika ni shite
makomo o karamu
samidare ni
takase no yodo mo
mizu masarikeri |
What am I to do?
I would reap rushes
In the rain
Where the Yodo meets Takase,
But the waters have risen high… |
Minamoto no Morotoki
源師時
五月雨に畔の細道水深み田中の里は人ぞ通はぬ
samidare ni
aze no Fosomiti
midu Fukami
tanaka no sato Fa
Fito zo kayoFanu |
In the drizzle
Above the narrow paths between the paddies
So deep is the water that
The dwelling within the rice fields
Is visited by no one at all… |
五月雨は宿につく間の菖蒲草軒の雫に枯れしとぞ思ふ
samidare wa
yado ni tsuku ma no
ayamegusa
noki no shizuku ni
kareshi to zo omou |
When the showers
Touch my roof
The sweet-flags by
Droplets on the eaves
Are all dried up, I feel! |
Ōe no Masafusa
Summer Garb (夏衣)
五月雨にぬれにけらしな夏衣ひとへひがきにかけてほさなん
samidare ni
nurenikerashi na
natsugoromo
hitoe higaki ni
kakete hosanan |
By summer showers
Does seem drenched
This summer garb:
A single layer upon the cypress fence –
Hanging there to dry… |
Tadafusa
'Simply moving and elegant'