逢ふ事やこよひこよひとかよふまに空忘れして月日へにけり
au koto ya
koyoi koyoi to
kayou ma ni
sora wasureshite
tsukihi henikeri | I wonder will we meet
Tonight, maybe tonight, I think, and
While I’m on my way,
Forgetful of the skies,
Days and months have passed me by. |
Kuninobu, the Minamoto Middle Counsellor
5
In reply.
あや莚をとなるまでも恋ひずしてまだきに床を忘るべしやは
ayamushiro
oto naru made mo
koizushite
madaki ni toko o
wasurubeshi ya wa | My patterned blanket
Lies far away, and yet
Lacking love
How swiftly my bed
Might you be able to forget? |
Daishin, in service to His Former Majesty
6
Spiders 蜘蛛
ささがにのしるしもいさやいかならんこよひにてみんくものふるまひ
sasagani no
shirushi mo isa ya
ika naruran
koyoi nite min
kumo no furumai | A tiny crab’s
Sign, well,
What to make of it?
Tonight will I attend to
The spider’s behaviour… |
Nakazane
The Seventh Night 七夜
君まして今夜七よになりぬればこれよりちよをかぞふべきかな
kimi mashite
koyoi nanayo ni
narinureba
kore yori chiyo o
kazoubeki kana | Truly, have you
This night your seventh night
Reached, so
Henceforth a thousand generations
Must I count for you! |
Nakazane
The Seventh Night 七夜
しらいとをむすべることぞこよひまでいく万代のかずつもるらん
shira’ito o
musberu koto zo
koyoi made
iku yorozuyo no
kazu tsumoruran | With threads of white
Have you been bound
Up to this night, that
Uncounted myriads of ages
May mount up for you henceforth |
Akinaka
Composed on snow.
霰降りいたく風吹き寒き夜や旗野に今夜我が独り寝む
arare puri
itaku kaze puki
samuki yo ya
patano ni koyopi
wa ga pitori nemu |
Hail falls, and
Fiercely blows the wind,
On this night, so cold;
At Hatano, tonight,
Must I sleep alone? |
A poem composed by the deceased Emperor on the occasion of a visit to the Yoshino Palace.
み吉野の山のあらしの寒けくにはたや今夜も我が独り寝む
miyosino no
yama no arasi no
samukeku ni
pata ya koyopi mo
wa ga pitori nemu |
Though in fair Yoshino
The storm-winds off the mountains
Feel so chill,
Yet again tonight
Will I sleep alone? |
Emperor Monmu (683-707; r. 697-707)
文武
When he had gone to Saga to dig up plants for his garden.
日暮しに見れ共あかぬ女郎花のべにや今宵旅ねしなまし
higurasi ni
miredomo akanu
wominaFesi
nobe ni ya koyoFi
tabinesinamasi |
At the sunset
I see, yet cannot get my fill
Of maidenflowers, so
In the fields tonight
Should I make a traveller’s bed? |
Fujiwara no Nagayoshi
藤原長能
泊瀬の斎槻が下に我が隠せる妻あかねさし照れる月夜に人見てむかも
patuse no
yutuki ga sita ni
wa ga kakuseru tuma
akane sasi
tereru tukuyo ni
pito mitemu kamo |
Beneath Hatsuse’s
Divine zelkova
Did I conceal my love, but
Shining madder red
So bright is the moon tonight
Someone may find her out! |
Anonymous
On wind.
泊瀬風かく吹く宵はいつまでか衣片敷き我がひとり寝む
patuse kaze
kaku puku yopi pa
itu made ka
koromo katasiki
wa ga pitori nemu |
The winds at Hatsuse
Blow so tonight:
How long will it last?
A single spread robe
Where I sleep alone… |
Anonymous
Left (Win).
あらましに心は盡きぬ今夜とて待たばと思ふ夕暮の空
aramashi ni
kokoro wa tsukinu
koyoi tote
mataba to omou
yūgure no sora |
Wondering if it will it be
Has been the sole focus of my thoughts;
Tonight, he said –
‘If only you could wait,’ so thinks
The evening sky… |
Lord Ari’ie.
821
Right.
心さへかきくらすかなつくづくと思ひ入り日の空を眺めて
kokoro sae
kakikurasu kana
tsukuzuku to
omoi irihi no
sora o nagamete |
My very heart
Is sunk in darkness;
On and on,
Go my thoughts with the setting sun,
Gazing at the sky… |
Lord Tsune’ie.
822
The Right state: we find no faults. The Left state: saying ‘on and on’ (tsukuzuku) seems somewhat weak.
In judgement: the final line of the Left’s poem sounds elegant. Again, I make the Left the winner.
'Simply moving and elegant'