Tag Archives: shino

MYS VII: 1276

池の辺の小槻の下の小竹な刈りそねそれをだに君が形見に見つつ偲はむ

ike no pe no
wotuki no sita no
sino na kari so ne
sore wo dani
kimi ga katami ni
mitutu sinopamu
Beside the pond,
Beneath the young zelkova tree,
Reap not the arrow bamboo!
For that, alone,
Is my keepsake of you, and
I would gaze on it and remember what is gone…

Hitomaro kashū
人麻呂歌集

SZS IV: 271

Composed on the conception of thinking about flowers in the meadows.

今はしも穂に出でぬらむ東路の石田の小野の篠の小薄

ima wa simo
Fo ni idenuramu
adumadi no
iFata no wono no
sino no wosusuki
Now it is that
Their fronds seem to appear:
On the eastern roads,
Through Iwata meadows,
Fresh silver-grass among the arrow bamboo.

Fujiwara no Kore’ie
藤原伊家

Winter II: 5

Left.

さびしさの始とぞ見る朝まだきはだれ霜降る小野の篠原

sabishisa no
hajime to zo miru
asa madaki
hadarejimo furu
ono no shinohara
The loneliness
Has begun, I feel,
Early in the morning, with
The dusting frost
On the arrow bamboo groves…

Lord Suetsune.

549

Right (Win).

朝戸明けて都の辰巳眺むれば雪の梢や深草の里

asado akete
miyako no tatsumi
nagamureba
yuki no kozue ya
fukakusa no sato
Opening my door one morning, and
South-east of the capital
Turning my gaze,
The snow-laden treetops recall
The depths of the estate at Fukakusa.

The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.

550

Both teams say the other’s poem ‘isn’t bad’ [ashikaranu].

Shunzei’s judgement: Although I feel that this topic of ‘Winter Mornings’ should express the conception of the latter half of winter [fuyu no nakaba sugitaru kokoro], the Left’s poem sounds like one from the beginning of winter, and I wonder about that. ‘South-east of the capital’ (miyako no tatsumi) is taken from the poem by Kisen on Mt Uji, which states ‘South east of the Capital, and so I dwell’ (miyako no tatsumi sika zo sumu). This conception [kokoro] of being there and ‘gazing south-east of the capital’ (miyako no tatsumi nagamureba) to the Fukakusa Estate, is charming [okashiku haberu]. Snow on the treetops in the morning, too, sounds pleasant [yoroshiku kikoyu]. Thus, the Right should win.

Autumn III: 23

Left.

初霜や秋をこめても置きつらん今朝色變る野路の篠原

hatsujimo ya
aki o kometemo
okitsuran
kesa iro kawaru
noji no shinohara
Have the first frosts
In the midst of autumn
Fallen?
This morning has brought a change of hue
To the arrow-bamboo groves in Noji!

Lord Kanemune.

465

Right (Win).

いかに又秋は夕と眺め來て花に霜置く野邊の明ぼの

ika ni mata
aki wa yūbe to
nagamekite
hana ni shimo oku
nobe no akebono
How much more striking
Than an autumn evening
Spent gazing, is
The frost fallen on the flowers
In the fields at dawn!

Ietaka.

466

Neither team finds any fault with the other’s poem this round and say as much.

Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘frost’ (shimo) on the ‘arrow-bamboo groves in Noji’ (noji no shinohara) is certainly elegant [yū ni wa haberubeshi]. The Right’s ‘frost fallen on the flowers’ (hana ni oku shimo) is, too; although there is no difference in formal quality [uta no sama wa ikuhodo sabetsu naku] between them, ‘frost fallen on the flowers’ at ‘dawn’ (akebono) is more arresting [midokoro ya haberu] than ‘arrow-bamboo groves’.

Autumn I: 29

Left.

昨日まで蓬に閉ぢし柴の戸も野分に晴るゝ岡の邊の里

kinō made
yomogi ni tojishi
shiba no to mo
nowaki ni haruru
oka no be no sato
Until yesterday
Sealed by mugwort was
This brushwood door;
Swept clear by the gale
The hills around my dwelling.

A Servant Girl.

357

Right.

假にさす庵までこそ靡きけれ野分に堪へぬ小野の篠原

kari ni sasu
iori made koso
nabikikere
nowaki ni taenu
ono no shinohara
Roughly thatched,
Even my hut
Has blown away:
Unable to endure the gales
Amongst the arrow bamboo groves…

Ietaka.

358

Both teams say they can appreciate the sentiment of the opposing team’s poem.

Shunzei agrees: ‘Both the Left’s “hills around my dwelling” (oka no be no sato) and the Right’s “arrow bamboo groves” (ono no shinohara) are charming. “Sealed by mugwort was this brushwood door; swept clear by the gale” (yomogi ni tojishi shiba no to mo nowaki ni haruru) and “Even my hut has blown away: unable to endure the gales” (iori made koso nabikikere nowaki ni taenu) have no failings in form between them. Thus, the round ties.’

Autumn 23

Left (Tie).

なをざりの小野の淺茅に置露も草葉にあまる秋の夕暮

naozari no
ono no asaji ni
oku tsuyu mo
kusaba ni amaru
aki no yûgure
Brief, indeed,
Upon the sharp-leaved cogon grass in Ono,
Is the dewfall
Now mounting upon the blades
In the autumn evening.

45

Right

淺茅生の小野の篠原うちなびき遠方人に秋風ぞ吹く

asajiu no
ono no shinohara
uchinabiki
ochikatabito ni
aki kaze zo fuku
The sharp-leaved cogon grass
In the arrow-bamboo of Ono,
Rustled by
A traveller to a distant land:
The autumn wind a’blowing.

46