Round Twenty-Three
Left (Win)
雪ふかみしづのふせ屋もうづもれて煙ばかりぞしるしなりける
yuki fukami shizu no fuseya mo uzumorete keburi bakari zo shirushi narikeru Snow so deep that The peasants’ huts, too, Are buried, and The smoke, alone, is Their only sign!
Kinshige 45
Right
花の春もみぢの秋もしるかりし松の木ずゑもみえぬ白雪
hana no haru momiji no aki mo shirukarishi matsu no kozue mo mienu shirayuki By blossom is spring, and By scarlet leaves is autumn Known— The treetops of the pines Invisible with snow, so white.
Kūnin 46
The Left poem’s conception of ‘sign of smoke’ sounds particularly profound. As for the Right, it is possible for enough snow to fall to conceal a pine’s lower leaves, too, so the poem does not sound satisfying.
The End of Winter
Left
したぎえのゆきまをみればふゆながらはるのけちかきここちこそすれ
shitagie no yukima o mireba fuyu nagara haru no kechikaki kokochi koso sure Melting below, Gaps in the snow, I see, so Though ‘tis yet winter Spring’s sensation closer Comes, I feel!
19
Right (Win)
みよしののやまのしらゆきつもるらしふるさとさむくなりまさるなり
miyoshino no yama no shirayuki tsumorurashi furusato samuku narimasaru nari On fair Yoshino Mountain white snow fall Drifts high, it seems, For in this ancient place the chill Grows ever stronger.
Korenori 20
Left
月夜には花とぞ見ゆる竹のうへに降りしく雪を誰かはらはむ
tsukiyo ni wa hana to zo miyuru take no ue ni furishiku yuki o tare ka harawamu On a moonlit night As blossom it appears, so From the bamboo The fallen, scattered, snow— Who would sweep it away?
151
Right
しら雪を分けてわかるるかたみには袖に涙のこほるなりけり
shirayuki o wakete wakaruru katami ni wa sode ni namida no kōru narikeri That through the snow so white I pressed on, forging, A keepsake is The tears upon my sleeves, All frozen.
152
Left
霜がれの枝となわびそ白雪を花にやとひてみれどもあかず
shimogare no eda to na wabi so shirayuki o hana ni ya toite miredomo akazu For the frost-burned Branches, grieve not, for White snows As blossom will visit them, and The sight will never sate.
131
Right
嵐ふく山下里にふる雪はとくむめの花咲くかとぞ見る
arashi fuku yamashitazato ni furu yuki wa toku mume no hana saku ka to zo miru The storm wind blows Upon the village ‘neath the mountains, where Fallen snow, Long since, had plum blossom Made seem to bloom?
132
Round Thirteen
Left
うらちかくふりくる雪はしら波のすゑの松山こすかとぞみる
ura chikaku furikuru yuki wa shiranami no sue no matsuyama kosu ka to zo miru Close by the beach The snow comes falling upon The whitecaps—that The pine-topped peak of Sue The might o’ercome it does appear!
Fujiwara no Okikaze 24
Right
みよしのの山の白雪つもるらしふる里さむく成りまさるなり
miyoshino no yama no shirayuki tsumorurashi furusato samuku narimasaru nari On fair Yoshino Mountain white snow fall Drifts high, it seems, For in this ancient place the chill Grows ever stronger.
Sakanoue no Korenori 25[1]
[1] Kokinshū VI: 325: Composed at the place he was staying when he had gone to the Nara capital.
Topic unknown.
むばたまのよるのみふれる白雪はてる月影のつもるなりけり
mubatama no yoru nomi Fureru sirayuki Fa teru tukikage no tumoru narikeri Lily-seed dark The night, where fallen Snow, so white, Shines with the moonlight Drifting, piled high.
Anonymous
A wave of chill in the heart due to snow (依雪波心寒)
Left
わだづもにふるしら雪は消えながら波の心にさむさをぞそむ
wadadumi ni furu sirayuki Fa kienagara nami no kokoro ni samusa wo zo somu Across the broad sea sweep Falls white snow; It vanishes, yet The waves’ hearts are Dyed with cold.
10
Right (Win)
ふる雪に波の心もさむからし風とかくれやへたにだによる
furu yuki ni nami no kokoro mo samukarashi kaze to kakure ya Feta ni dani yoru With the falling snow The waves’ hearts, too, Must be so cold; Do they hide from the wind Rushing to the shore?
11[1]
[1] Minor variants on these poems appear in Fubokushō (XVIII: 7269 ) and (XVIII: 7268 ).
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
しら雪の八重ふりしけるかへる山かへるがへるも老いにける哉
sirayuki no yaFe Furisikeru kaFeru yama kaFerugaFeru mo oinikeru kana White snow Falls eightfold on Mount Return— Returning and returning again Is the age I feel!
Ariwara no Muneyana
First Snow 初雪
冬きぬとききつるからにいちじるくいちしの原 にふれる白雪
fuyu kinu to kikitsuru kara ni ichijiruku ichishi no hara ni fureru shirayuki Winter has come, I have heard, and so Remarkably Upon the bramble fields Has fallen the first snow.
Tadafusa
年のうちに積もれる罪はかきくらし降る白雪とともに消えなむ
tosi no uti ni
tumoreru tumi Fa
kakikurasi
Furu sirayuki to
tomo ni kienamu
Within the year
My accumulated sins
Leave me in darkness;
With the falling snow so white
I wish they would disappear!
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
Posts navigation
'Simply moving and elegant'