Round Twelve
Left
冬の夜の月はとほくやわたりけんかげみしみづのまづしこほれば
| fuyu no yo no tsuki wa tōku ya watariken kage mishi mizu no mazu shi kōreba | On a winter’s night Does the moon distantly Pass by? For The waters where I saw its face Are the first to freeze… |
22
Right
ながれくるみづこほりぬる冬さへやなほうき草のあとはさだめぬ
| nagarekuru mizu kōrinuru fuyu sae ya nao ukikusa no ato wa sadamenu | Flowing down The waters have frozen With the winter, so will The drifting waterweed still Leave little trace? |
23
つらしともいざやいかがはいはし水あふせまだきにたゆる心は
| tsurashi to mo iza ya ikaga wa iwashimizu ause madaki ni tayuru kokoro wa | How cruel! Why as Spring waters rushing from the rocks did Our meeting swiftly Did you wish to end? |
Kazusa, in service to the Empress
23
In reply
世世ふともたえじとぞ思ふ神がきの岩ねをくぐる水の心は
| yo yo futomo taeji to zo omou kamigaki no iwane o kuguru mizu no kokoro wa | Age upon age may pass, yet Never shall we end, I feel, as from The sacred precinct’s Rocky roots flow Waters—that is my heart! |
24
This match took place when, hearing that his courtiers were composing poetry, His Majesty ordered them to compose love poems to the ladies in attendance.
おもひあまりいかでもらさんおく山の岩かきこむる谷の下みづ
| omoi’amari ikade morasan okuyama no iwa kakikomuru tani no shitamizu | My passion’s full, so How should it o’erflow? Deep within the mountains Hemmed in by crags are The waters of the valley floor… |
Major Counsellor Kinzane
1
In reply
いかなれば音にのみきく山川の浅きにしもはこころよすらん
| ika nareba oto ni nomi kiku yamakawa no asaki ni shimo wa kokoro yosuran | For some reason, I simply hear the sound Of a mountain stream; Into the shallows, indeed, has Your heart been swept, it seems! |
[Nakako,] The Suō Handmaid
2
Icicles
山ざとは谷の下水つららゐていはうつ浪の音だにもせず
| yamazato wa tani no shitamizu tsurara ite iwa utsu nami no oto dani mo sezu | At a mountain retreat The waters in the valley below Have turned to icicles, and Of waves striking the rocks There is no sound, at all. |
Morotoki
Love
Left
恋せじと御手洗川に御祓して神うけつらんとおもほゆるかな
| koi seji to mitarashigawa ni oharaishite kami uketsuran to omohoyuru kana | I’ll not fall in love, and At the River Mitarashi Purify myself— Would the gods then accept me, I wonder! |
25
恋なれどそこにもすまぬひれはみづにごれりとおもほゆるかな
| koi naredo soko ni mo sumanu hire wa mizu nigoreri to omohoyuru kana | This is love, yet The deeps are all disturbed, with Fins the waters Clouding, I feel! |
26
こひわたる程のふかさにそめ川の色あさからじとおもほゆるかな
| koiwataru hodo no fukasa ni somekawa no iro asakaraji to omohoyuru kana | So long have I loved you that The depths of Dyers’ River have Lost their pale hues I feel! |
27
Right
おもふとて夕ぐれがたのながめをや人待つほどの恋といふらん
| omou tote yūguregata no nagame o ya hito matsu hodo no koi to iuran | Thinking of him As evening draws on, and I gaze on long rains falling; is Time pining for a man Being in love, I wonder? |
28
年の内にあまる月日の有りければかぞへのうちにははわぶるかな
| toshi no uchi ni amaru tsuki hi no arikereba kazoe no uchi ni haha waburu kana | Throughout the year The days and months mount up So Counting them My mother grieves! |
29
The depth of colour of spring waters (春水添色深)
Left (Win)
水のいろをそめては深くみゆれども春はよどまぬものにざりける
| midu no iro wo somete Fa Fukaku miyuredomo Faru Fa yodomanu mono ni zarikeru | The waters’ hues So deeply dyed Do appear that Spring ever unclouded Truly ever will be. |
3
Right
春のいろは底なき水にそへりとも流れて深くあらむとぞ思ふ
| Faru no iro Fa soko naki midu ni soFeri tomo nagarete Fukaku aramu to zo omoFu | The hue of spring across Bottomless waters Does lie, and yet How deeply must they flow I wonder? |
4
The Empress Dowager’s reply:
みづのえのかたみとおもへどうぐひすの花のくしげはあけてだにみず
| midu no e no katami to omoFedo uguFisu no Fana no kusige Fa akete dani mizu | By the waters’ edge A keepsake, I thought this was, yet The warbler’s Comb box of blossom on Opening, I see not within… |
The Shichijō Empress
Boats 船
水あさみ川せの波はたつものをくだすう舟のみつや何なる
| mizu asami kawase no nami wa tatsu mono o kudasu ubune no mitsu ya ika naru | How shallow the waters in The river rapids where waves Arise – What will become of the cormorant boats, sailing down If they be full? |
Tadafusa
Waterweed 萍
世の中は水のうへなるうき草のうきにたへたる身をいかにせん
| yo no naka wa mizu no uenaru ukikusa no uki ni taetaru mi o ikani sen | In this mundane world Atop the waters lies A waterweed – In endless misery, O, what am I to do? |
Higo
Stones 石
いかにして水の下なるさざれ石のなかのおもひのきえせざるらん
| ika ni shite mizu no shita naru sazare’ishi no naka no omoi no kiezaruran | O, what am I to do? Beneath the waters Pebbles lie, as many as My passionate thoughts within That show no signs of fading… |
Daishin