As a poem on willows.
青柳のいともてぬける白露の玉こきちらす春の山かぜ
| aoyagi no ito mo tenukeru shiratsuyu no tama kokichirasu haru no yamakaze | Pale green willow Threads are strung With silver dewdrops— Gems scattered by The breeze from off the mountains in springtime. |
Spring
Ten Poems on the Second Month
Left
あをやぎのえだにかかれるはるさめはいともてぬけるたまかとぞみる
| aoyagi no eda ni kakareru harusame wa ito mo te nukeru tama ka to zo miru | Upon the green willow Branches hang Spring raindrops— As if each frond were hand-threaded With gems do they appear. |
Ise
1
Right
あさみどりそめてみだれるあをやぎのいとをばはるのかぜやよるらむ
| asamidori somete midareru aoyagi no ito oba haru no kaze ya yoruramu | Pale green Dyes the tangled Willow Fronds—do spring’s Breeze they seem to beckon? |
Korenori
2
I’d say both of these are good—a tie.
Composed when the former Teishi Emperor made a progress to Naniwa.
君がため波の玉しくみつの浜ゆき過ぎがたしおりてひろはん
| kimi ga tame nami no tamashiku mitsu no hama yukisugigatashi orite hirowan | For my Lord’s sake The waves scatter gems On the beach at Mitsu— So hard it is to pass them by I would disembark and gather them up! |
Prince Sadakazu
Regretting the Day of the Rat
Left
むねのひををしもぬかねばみだれおつるなみだのたまにかつぞけちつる
| mune no hi o o shimo nukaneba midare’otsuru namida no tama ni katsu zo kechitsuru | The fire within my breast Will not thread upon a string, but My disorderly dripping Gemstone tears will Yet extinguish it. |
Tsurayuki
23
Right (Win)
くらきよにともすほたるのむねのひををしもとけたるたまかとぞ見る
| kuraki yo ni tomosu hotaru no mune no hi o o shimo toketaru tama ka zo zo miru | On a night so dark, The kindled fireflies of The fire within my breast; Loosened from their string As scattered gemstones they appear. |
Tadamine
24
Wisteria
Left (Win)
おくつゆのひかりてたまぞみえまがふちのはながらにきえずもあらなむ
| oku tsuyu no hikarite tama zo miemagau chi no ha nagara ni kiezu mo aranamu | The fallen dewdrops Shine like gems Within my sight; From the budding leaves I would they vanished not! |
21
Right
あまつそらてりみくもりみゆくつきのふちのはなどはさやけかるらん
| ama tsu sora terimi kumorimi yuku tsuki no fuchi no ha nado wa sayakekaruran | Through the heaven-bound skies Shining, then clouding, Goes the moon, so Why, by this deep pool’s edge Should it show so clear? |
Fukayabu
22
Kerria
Left
はなをらでわれぞややまふきのはなるつゆをたまにてけたじとおもへば
| hana orade ware zo ya yamau ki no ha naru tsuyu o tama nite ketaji to omoeba | Leave the blossom unplucked, and As it is, I will, that From the tree’s leaves The dewdrop gems Will not disappear, or so I wish… |
Sadafun
13
Right (Win)
いづこともわかずはるさめふりやまふきのはなべてももえにけるかな
| izuko to mo wakazu harusame furiyamau ki no ha nabete mo moenikeru kana | Everywhere Without exception, springtime showers Have ceased to fall, so All the leaves upon the trees Have budded! |
14
Left Final Round
をみなへしこのあきまでぞまさるべきつゆをもぬきてたまにまどはせ
| ominaeshi kono aki made zo masarubeki tsuyu o mo nukite tama ni madowase | The maidenflowers This autumn Have been fine, indeed— Strung with dewdrops As pearls let you be! |
His Majesty
21[1]
Right
きみによりのべをはなれしをみなへしおなじこころにあきをとどめよ
| kimi ni yori nobe o hanareshi ominaeshi onaji kokoro ni aki o todomeyo | For My Lord Have you left your meadows, O, maidenflower, Wishing as we, Autumn—hold here! |
Her Majesty, the Empress
22[2]
The flowers of the Right were inferior, but the poems of the Right won.
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 528
[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 548
Left
ひとのみることやくるしきをみなへしあきぎりにのみたちかくるらむ
| hito no miru koto ya kurushiki ominaeshi akigiri ni nomi tachikakururamu | For man to gaze on you, Is it so painful, O, Maidenflower, That simply in the autumn mists You must hide yourself away? |
Tadamine
13[1]
Right
とりてみばはかなからんやをみなへしそでにつつめるしらつゆのたま
| torite miba hakanakaran ya ominaeshi sode ni tsutsumeru shiratsuyu no tama | If I pick and look How fleeting are Upon a maidenflower, Enveloped in my sleeves Silver dewdrop pearls. |
14
[1] KKS IV: 235
Left
しらつゆのおけるあしたのをみなへしはなにもはにもたまぞかかれる
| shiratsuyu no okeru ashita no ominaeshi hana ni mo ha ni mo tama zo kakareru | Silver dewdrops Fallen in the morning on A maidenflower: Both bloom and leaves Are all hung with pearls. |
7[1]
Right
をみなへしたてるのざとをうちすぎてうらみむつゆにぬれやん
| ominaeshi tateru nozato o uchisugite uramimu tsuyu ni nure ya wataran | A maidenflower Stands at a house upon the plains As I pass by; Is it her resentful dew That has drenched me on my way? |
8
[1] Gyokuyōshū 526; Shinsen man’yōshū 606; Kokin rokujō 3687