Tag Archives: uguisu

Teiji'in uta'awase

Teiji-in uta’awase 03

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きつつのみなくうぐひすのふるさとはちりにしむめのはなにざりける

kitsutsu nomi
naku uguisu no
furusato wa
chirinishi mume no
hana ni zarikeru		Ever coming, simply
To sing—the warbler’s
Ancient home
The scattered plum
Blossoms is not.

Mitsune

5[i]

Right

みちよへてなるてふももはことしよりはなさくはるにあひぞしにける

michiyo hete
naru chō momo wa
kotoshi yori
hana saku haru ni
ai zo shinikeru		Three thousand generations enduring,
They say, are the peaches:
From this year
Blossom blooming spring
Have they encountered.

Korenori

6[ii]

This poem says ‘generation’ when it should be composed about a year—it loses.

[i] This poem is included in Shinchokusenshū (I: 36), attributed to Sakanoue no Korenori, with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.

[ii] A minor variant of this poem, which changes the first phrase to ‘For three thousand years’ (michi tose ni), is included in Shūishū (V: 288), attributed to Mitsune, with the headnote ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.

Uda'in uta'awase

Uda-in uta’awase 8

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Azaleas

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かりがねにおもひかけつつしのばなんあまつそらなるわが身なりとも

kari ga ne ni
omoikaketsutsu
shinobanan
ama tsu sora naru
wa ga mi naritomo		Upon the goose cries
Ever hang your thoughts, and
Remember, that
Within the sky-spanning heavens
I may yet be…

Sadafun
15

Right

うぐひすのこゑなつかしくなきつるはのちもこひつつしのばなむとか

uguisu no
koe natsukashiku
nakitsuru wa
nochi mo koitsutsu
shinobanamu to ka		Does the warbler’s
Song so charmingly
Ring out that
Later, ever fondly
Will he be remembered?

16

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta'awase

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 13

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霞立つ春の山辺にさくら花あかず散るとやうぐひすの鳴く

kasumi tatsu
haru no yamabe ni
sakurabana
akazu chiru to ya
uguisu no naku		Hazes rise from
The springtime moutainside, where
With cherry blossoms’
Scattering unsated, perhaps,
The warbler sings.

25[1]

Right

あまの原春はことにも見ゆるかな雲のたてるも色こかりけり

ama no hara
haru wa koto ni mo
miyuru kana
kumo no tateru mo
iro kokarikeri		Upon the Plain of Heaven
The spring is especially
Revealed!
The clouds stand tall in
Vibrant hues.

26

[1] Shinkokinshū II: 109/Shinsen man’yōshū 31

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta'awase

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 12

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Left

春ながら年はくれなん散る花ををしと鳴くなる鶯のこゑ

haru nagara
toshi wa kurenan
chiru hana o
oshi to nakunaru
uguisu no koe		‘Tis spring, but
The year draws to an end;
‘The scattering blossom
I regret!’ sings
The warbler’s song.

23[1]

Right

大空をおほふばかりの袖もがな春咲く花を風にまかせじ

ōzora o
ōu bakari no
sode mogana
haru saku hana o
kaze ni makaseji		If only the heavens
I could simply cover
With my sleeves, then
The blossoms blooming in springtime
I’d not abandon to the wind!

24[2]

[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 35; Shinchokusenshū II: 88.

[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 263.

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta'awase

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 11

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駒なべてめも春の野にまじりなむ若菜摘みつる人は有りやと

koma nabete
me mo haru no no ni
majirinamu
wakana tsumitsuru
hito wa ari ya to		Mounts all over
The springtime meadows before my eyes
Are mixed;
A’plucking of fresh herbs,
Are there folk there, I wonder?

21[1]

Right

鶯の谷よりいづる声なくは春くることを誰かつげまし

uguisu no
tani yori izuru
koe naku wa
haru kuru koto o
tare ka tsugemashi		If the bush-warbler
From the valleys
Did not sing his song,
That spring is coming
Would anyone announce it at all?

22[2]

[1] Shisen manyōshū 13; Kokin rokujō II: 1137, ‘Springtime meadows’

[2] A minor variant of this poem occurs in Kokinshū (I: 14), attributed to Ōe no Chisato: 鶯の谷よりいづる声なくは春来ることを誰かしらまし uguisu no / tani yori izuru / koe naku wa / haru kuru koto o / tare ka shiramashi ‘If the bush-warbler / From the valleys / Did not sing his song, / That spring is coming / Would anyone realise at all?’; also Shinsen man’yōshū 261.

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta'awase

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 8

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春がすみあみにはりこめ花ちらばうつろひぬべし鶯とめよ

harugasumi
ami ni harikome
hana chiraba
utsuroinubeshi
uguisu tomeyo		The spring haze
Spreads its net to catch
The blossom—should they scatter,
And then, for sure, decline,
O, warbler, tarry a while!

15[1]

Right

春雨の色はこくしもみえなくに野辺のみどりをいかでそむらん

harusame no
iro wa koku shimo
mienaku ni
nobe no midori o
ikade somuran		The spring rain’s
Hue great depths
Does not seem to have, but
How are the meadows with green
So deeply dyed?

16[2]

[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 9; Fubokushō II: 464: ‘Haze’

[2] A minor variant of the poem, with a headnote associating it with this contest, and attributed to Ki no Tomonori, appears in Shokusenzaishū (I: 62): 春雨の色はこしともみえなくに野べのみどりをいかでそむらん harusame no / iro wa koshi tomo / mienaku ni / nobe no midori o / ikade somuran ‘The spring rain’s / Hue no great depths / Does seem to have, but / How are the meadows with green / So deeply dyed?’

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta'awase

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 5

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Left

鶯はむべもなくらん花ざくら咲くとみしまにうつろひにけり

uguisu wa
mube mo nakuran
hanazakura
saku to mishi ma ni
utsuroinikeri		The bush warbler,
Indeed, does seem to sing among
The cherry blossoms, that
In the moment that I saw them bloom
Did quite fade away.

9

Right

はる霞たなびく野辺のわか菜にもなりみてしかな人もつむやと

harugasumi
tanabiku nobe no
wakana ni mo
narimiteshi kana
hito mo tsumu ya to		Spring haze
Drifting through the fields over
The new herbs
I would become—
For then she might pick me, perhaps…

Okikaze
10[1]

[1] Kokinshū XIX: 1031

Shinkokinshū

SKKS II: 109

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From the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.

霞立つ春の山辺にさくら花あかず散るとやうぐひすの鳴く

kasumi tatsu
haru no yamabe ni
sakurabana
akazu chiru to ya
uguisu no naku		Hazes rise from
The springtime moutainside, where
With cherry blossoms’
Scattering unsated, perhaps,
The warbler sings.

Anonymous

Shiki koi sanshu uta'awase

Shiki koi sanshu uta’awase – Spring

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Spring

Left

春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ

haru no tatsu
kasumi no koromo
ura mo naku
toshi o hete koso
hana no chirikere		Spring does sew
A robe of haze
Without an underlay,
The year passes by in
A scattering of blossom

1

春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる

haru no no no
yuki ma o wakete
itsushika to
kimi ga tame to zo
wakana tsumitsuru		Across the springtime meadows
Do I forge between the snows,
Eagerly, so eagerly,
For you, my Lord,
Have I gathered fresh herbs!

2

春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを

harugasumi
kasumi kometaru
yamazato wa
kōri toku tomo
kage wa mieji o		The haze of spring
Blurs all around
A mountain retreat,
Even were the ice to melt
I could see no sign of it!

3

Right

梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する

ume ga e ni
ki’iru uguisu
toshigoto ni
hana no nioi o
akanu koesuru		Upon the plum tree’s branches
Has come to rest the warbler;
Every single year, that
Of the blossoms’ scent
He cannot get his fill he sings.

4

桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで

sakurairo ni
hana saku ame wa
furinu tomo
chishio zo somete
utsurou na sode		Cherry-coloured
Blossoms flower, as the rain
Falls on, yet
Dyed a thousand times
Fade not, o, my sleeves!

5

青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ

aoyagi no
ito harubaru to
midori naru
yukusue made mo
omoi koso yare		The willow’s
Branches dangle lengthily
So green
Right to the very end
Will I fondly think of you.

6