Silver Grass
Left
おほかたののべよりまさる花すすき秋はてぬともうつらざらなん
| ōkata no nobe yori masaru hanasusuki aki hatenu to mo utsurazaranan | All o’er The plains so fine is The blossoming silver grass— Even when autumn’s done ‘Twill not fade away. |
Yoshimochi
3
Right (Win)
おもふことこめてはくるし花すすきほにいでていはんそよとこたへよ
| omou koto komete wa kurushi hanasusuki ho ni idete iwan soyo to kotaeyo | All my thoughts Are filled with pain— O, blossoming silver grass, Burst into bud, and say, Rustling, ‘That’s how it is!’ in reply… |
Yugei
4
Blossoming silver grass beckoning folk.[i]
Left
はなすすきまねくたもとのあまたあればゆきもやられずあきのののみち
| hanasusuki maneku tamoto no amata areba yuki mo yararezu akino no michi | Of blossoming silver grass Beckoning sleeves Are there many, so I can go no further on The path across the autumn plains. |
9
Right (Win)
はなすすきまねくたもとやたゆからんはかるのかぜにかへるひとなみ
| hanasususki maneku tamoto ya tayukaran hakaru nokaze ni kaeru hito nami | Have the blossoming silver grass Sleeves their beckoning Ceased, perhaps? For with The deceitful breeze across the plains Returns not a single soul… |
10
[i] 花薄招人
A poem by Her Majesty, the Senior Retired Empress.
波太須珠寸 尾花逆葺 黒木用 造有室者 迄万代
はだすすき尾花逆葺き黒木もち造れる室は万代までに
| hadasusuki wobana sakapuki kuroki moti tukureru muro pa yoroduyo made ni | Still a’bud The silver grass, reverse-thatched, Upon the barken logs: Thus constructed is this hall, To stand until ten thousand ages pass! |
Empress Genshō
Original
ひとりぬるよをながづきのはなすすきそよともあきのかぜぞこたふる
| hitori nuru yo o nagazuki no hanasusuki soyo to mo aki no kaze zo kotauru | Sleeping alone, How long the night in the Longest Month: The blossoming silver grass Whispers, ‘So it is,’ with the autumn Wind replying! |
45
Left
こたふともたのまざらなむはなすすきふくあきかぜのさだめなければ
| kotau tomo tanomazaranamu hanasusuki fuku akikaze no sadame nakereba | It may reply, but I would not have you trust, for The blossoming silver grass Blowing in the autumn wind is Fickle, indeed… |
46
Right
そよとだにしりてこたふるかぜしあらばなにかながきよおもひわぶらん
| soyo to dani shirite kotauru kaze shi araba nanika nagaki yo omoiwaburan | If, ‘So it is,’ You know and reply, O, wind, then Why, all the long night through Do my thoughts torment me so? |
47
Original
ゆくあきをまねくをばなのたもとにはつゆもおきあへずのどけからねば
| yuku aki o maneku obana no tamoto ni wa tsuyu mo oki’aezu nodokekaraneba | Departing autumn Beckoning, upon the silver grass Sleeves The dew cannot fall, For tranquil they are not… |
36
Left
まねくにしあきのとまらぬものならばをばなのそでやせばくなりなん
| maneku ni shi aki no tomaranu mono naraba obana no sode ya sebaku narinan | They may beckon, but Autumn will not linger, So, The silver grass sleeves Narrow will become… |
37
Right
まねけどもとまらぬあきをはなすすきほにいでてしかをなきてしたはむ
| manekedomo tomaranu aki o hanasusuki ho ni idete shika o nakite shitawamu | They beckon, yet Autumn does not linger for The silver grass, Bursting into bloom, as the stags Cry out, as I would, too… |
38
