忍ぶれど物思ふ人はうき雲の空に恋する名をのみぞたつ
shinoburedo
mono’omou hito wa
ukigumo no
sora ni koisuru
na o nomi zo tatsu | I kept it secret, yet
She, who is the focus of my thoughts, is
As a drifting cloud
Within the sky, and of my love
Rumours, alone, do rise toward her. |
Middle Captain Morotoki, Fourth Rank
19
恋すともいかでか空に名はたたじ忍ぶる程は袖につつまで
koisu to mo
ikade ka sora ni
na wa tataji
shinoburu hodo wa
sode ni tsutsumade | You love, so
How is it that the skies
Could remain untouched by rumours?
Your secret
You’ve not kept wrapped within your sleeves… |
Lady Aki, in service to the Empress Dowager
20
Left
あすは又けふをばこぞといひすててをしみしものとおもひだにせじ
asu wa mata
kyō o ba kozo to
iisutete
oshimishi mono to
omoi dani seji | Tomorrow, once again
Will be as today
I’ll say easily and
All those things that I regretted-
I’ll not even think of them! |
Lord Sueyoshi
2080
Right
ふゆのそらわびつつけふになりにけりあとなきにはのゆきとみながら
fuyu no sora
wabitsutsu kyō ni
narinikeri
ato naki niwa no
yuki to minagara | The winter sky is
Ever a source of grief-today
Has just turned out that way,
While my gardens trackless
Snow fills my gaze. |
Ienaga
2081
Judgement: I wonder how the central ‘I’ll say easily’ leads in to the concluding section. The Right’s poem is a little better, I’d say.
When people were commanded to compose a seventeen poem sequence.
冬の空日影みじかき比なればいとどほどなく暮るる年かな
fuyu no sora
hikage mijikaki
koro nareba
itodo hodo naku
kururu toshi kana | The winter sky’s
Sunlight hours are
Brief, so
Shortly, very shortly
The year will reach its evening. |
Dharma Seal Kakkan
From among the poems he composed daily in Bun’ei 7 [1270].
冬の雨の名残のきりはあけ過ぎてくもらぬ空にのこる月かげ
fuyu no ame no
nagori no kiri wa
akesugite
kumoranu sora ni
nokoru tsukikage | The winter rain’s
Remnants of mist
Have cleared away, and
In the cloudless sky
Lingers moonlight. |
Minister of Popular Affairs, Lord Tame’ie
Composed gazing at the moon.
あまの原そらさへさえや渡るらん氷と見ゆる冬の夜の月
ama no Fara
sora saFe sae ya
wataruran
koFori to miyuru
Fuyu no yo no tuki | The plain of Heaven,
The sky, so coldly
Does it seem to cross,
Ice, it does appear,
The moon upon a winter’s night. |
Egyō
Round Nine: Quiet thoughts at Tanabata
Left
八重葎しげる軒ばをかき分けて星合の空をながめつるかな
yae mugura
shigeru nokiba o
kakiwakete
hoshiai no sora o
nagametsuru kana | Eightfold thickets
Grow lushly beneath my eaves;
Pulling them apart upon
The sky of trysting stars
Will I turn my gaze! |
Taira no Sadatsugu[1]
17
Right
七夕のあふよの程は思ひやる心さへこそ空にすみけれ
tanabata no
au yo no hodo wa
omoiyaru
kokoro sae koso
sora ni sumikere | Tanabata is
A night for meeting—throughout it
I am filled with longing:
Even my very heart
Does dwell among the skies. |
Fujiwara no Kaneyuki[2]
18
[1] Taira no Sadatsugu 平貞継. The identity of this individual is unclear. This poem is his sole appearance in a poetry contest.
[2] 藤原兼行
あまのがはほしあひのそらをみるほどもなほわすられぬすずむしのこゑ
ama no gawa
hoshiai no sora o
miru hodo mo
nao wasurarenu
suzumushi no koe | The River of Heaven fills
The sky of trysting stars, and
When I gaze upon it
Even less might I forget
The bell crickets’ song. |
Lady Ukon
Flutes 笛
笛竹のよをさへ月やてらすらん空にも声のすみのぼるかな
fuetake no
yo o sae tsuki ya
terasuran
sora ni mo koe no
suminoboru kana | Is it the flute that
Tonight does make the moon
Seem to shine so bright?
Into the sky its notes
So clearly climb! |
Akinaka
A poem from the Poetry Contest held at the Palace of Former Emperor Uda.
さくら花ちりぬるかぜのなごりには水なき空に浪ぞたちける
sakurabana
tirinuru kaze no
nagori ni Fa
midu naki sora ni
nami zo tatikeru | Cherry blossoms
Scattered, the wind
Leaves a keepsake
In the waterless sky of
A wave of broken petals. |
Tsurayuki
あしひきの山遠き月を空におきて月影高き末の架け橋
ashihiki no
yama tōki tsuki o
sora ni okite
tsukikage takaki
sue no kakehashi | Leg-wearying,
Above the distant mountains, the moon
Hangs in the sky;
Soaring moonbeams
A bridge between the peaks. |
Shōhaku 肖柏 (1443-1527)
'Simply moving and elegant'