Tag Archives: ukiyo

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 08

Round Eight

Left (Tie)

うき世をば又なににかはなぐさめん花にさきだついのちともがな

ukiyo oba
mata nani ni ka wa
nagusamen
hana ni sakidatsu
inochi to mogana
In this cruel world
Is there yet anything else
To console me?
Before the blossoms’ departure
I would my life do the same…

Court Lady Taifu
15

Right

桜さく春の山風みねこせば雪ふりつもる谷のほそみち

sakura saku
haru no yamakaze
mine koseba
yuki furitsumoru
tani no hosomichi
When in cherry-blooming
Spring, the mountain breezes
Cross the peaks
Snow falls and piles high
Upon the narrow valley paths.

Moromitsu
16

Both poems are smooth, and on that basis, I would say that the Right is superior, but it has an archaic element, while the Left lacks anything unusual about it, so this is a tie of quality.

GSIS XV: 860

Composed beholding the bright moon, when he was suffering from illness and considering abdicating the throne.

心にもあらでうき世にながらへば恋しかるべき夜はの月かな

kokoro ni mo
arade ukiyo ni
nagaraFeba
koFisikarubeki
yoFa no tuki kana
My heart
Is not in it, but in this sorry world
Should I stay on, then
Surely will I love
Tonight’s midnight moon!

Former Emperor Sanjō

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.