Bush clover
Left
しかのこゑたかさごやまのはぎなればをりてこしよりねをやなくらん
| shika no koe takasagoyama no hagi nareba oritekoshi yori ne o ya nakuran | A stag’s cry On Takasago Mountain, where Lies bush clover: Might someone have come and picked her That he lets out such cries? |
11
Right
あきはぎの花のながるるかはのせにしがらみかくるしかのねもせぬ
| akihagi no hana no nagaruru kawa no se ni shigarami kakuru shika no ne mo senu | Autumn bush clover Blooms flow down The river rapids and Hang upon the lattice weir, and The stag cries not at all… |
12
The Middle of Autumn
Left (Tie)
くもゐよりてりやまさるときよたきのそこにてもみむあきのつきかげ
| kumoi yori teri ya masaru to kiyotaki no soko nite mo mimu aki no tsukikage | From the clouds Does it shine most bright? On Kiyotaki’s Riverbed I see Autumn moonlight. |
13
Right
人しれぬねをやなくらんあきはぎのはなさくまでにしかのこゑせぬ
| hito shirenu ne o ya nakuran aki hagi no hana saku made ni shika no koe senu | That no one may know Quietly, does he cry? Until the autumn bush clover Blooms flower The stag’s bell stays silent. |
Mitsune
14
をとこやまみねふみわけてなくしかはへじとやおもふしひてあきには
| otokoyama mine fumiwakete naku shika wa heji to ya omou shiite aki ni wa | Upon Otoko Mountain’s Peak treads A belling stag: I wonder, does he not wish To have to endure the autumn? |
41
をぐらやまみねのもみぢばなにをいとにへてかおりけむしるやしらずや
| ogurayama mine no momijiba nani o ito ni hete ka orikemu shiru ya shirazu ya | On Ogura Mountain’s Peak, the scarlet leaves Somehow, as warp threads Crossing, woven seem— Who knows that? No one, I expect! |
42
Left
あき山に恋する鹿の声たてて鳴きぞしぬべき君がこぬよは
| akiyama ni koisuru shika no koe tatete naki zo shinubeki kimi ga konu yo wa | In the autumn mountains A loving stag Cries out, I could die from weeping On nights you fail to come to call… |
116[1]
Right
契りけむ心ぞつらき七夕の年にひとたびあふは逢ふかは
| chigiriken kokoro zo tsuraki tanabata no toshi ni hito tabi au wa au ka wa | The vow Of a pitiless heart: The Weaver Maid, But once a year Will meet; can it be true? |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
117[2]
[1] Shokukokinshū XII: 1194/Shinsen man’yōshū 119
[2] Kokinshū IV: 178/Shinsen man’yōshū 460/Kokin rokujō I: 143
Left
おく山に紅葉ふみわけ鳴く鹿の声きく時ぞ秋はかなしき
| okuyama ni momiji fumiwake naku shika no koe kiku toki zo aki wa kanashiki | Deep within the mountains Forging through the scarlet leaves When a belling stag’s Cry I hear, indeed, Autumn is so sad. |
82
Right
わがために来る秋にしもあらなくに虫の音聞けば先ぞかなしき
| wa ga tame ni kuru aki ni shimo aranaku ni mushi no ne kikeba saki zo kanashiki | Not for my sake Has autumn come And yet, When the insects’ cries I hear What lies ahead is sad, indeed. |
83
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
あき山に恋する鹿の声たてて鳴きぞしぬべき君がこぬよは
| akiyama ni koisuru shika no koe tatete naki zo shinubeki kimi ga konu yo wa | In the autumn mountains A loving stag Cries out, I could die from weeping On nights you fail to come to call… |
Anonymous
ひとしれぬなみだやそらにくもりつつあきのしぐれとふりまさるらむ[1]
| hito shirenu namida ya sora ni kumoritsutsu aki no shigure to furimasaruramu | Unknown to all With tears the skies Are ever clouded; The autumn drizzle Seems to fall the harder. |
47
あきくれば山とよむまでなくしかに我おとらめやひとりぬるよは
| aki kureba yama toyomu made naku shika ni ware otorame ya hitori nuru yo wa | When the autumn comes The mountains echo with The belling stags; Will they lose to me These nights I sleep alone? |
48
[1] This poem appears in Fubokushō (5546), where it is attributed to [Ariwara no] Motokata.
山ざとは秋こそものはかなしけれねざめねざめにしかはなきつつ
| yamazato wa aki koso mono wa kanashikere nezame nezame ni shika wa nakitsutsu | A mountain retreat in Autumn is much more Sad; Waking, ever waking To the stags constant cries… |
29
ことのねをかぜのしらべにまかせてはたつたひめこそあきはひくらし
| koto no ne o kaze no shirabe ni makasete wa tatsustahime koso aki wa hikurashi | A zither’s strains By the wind tuned Up— Princess Tatsuta Is plucking out the notes of autumn, it seems. |
30