[One of] ten personal laments.
捨てて後は紛れし方は覚えぬを心のみをは世にあらせける
| sutete nochi wa magireshi kata wa oboenu o kokoro nomi oba yo ni arasekeru |
Having been abandoned One sunk in insignificance Will not be remembered, and His spirit alone Appears in the world! |
Saigyō
西行
Composed gazing at the moon when there were baseless rumours about her.
如何にせむ歎の杜は茂けれど木の間の月の隱れなき世を
| ika ni semu nageki no mori Fa sigekeredo ko no ma no tuki no kakurenaki yo wo |
What am I to do? The sacred groves of Nageki with grief Grow lush, yet Between the trees, from the moon There is no hiding in this world. |
The Daughter of Tachibana no Toshimune
橘俊宗女
On the road to Hatsuse, and seeing Mount Miwa.
三輪の山印の杉はあり乍をしへし人はなくていく世ぞ
| miwa no yama sirusi no sugi Fa arinagara wosiesi Fito Fa nakute iku yo zo |
On Mount Miwa Cedars stand sentinel Still, yet The one who told me this Is no longer in this world… |
Kiyowara no Motosuke
清原元輔
Composed on the beginning of love.
無名たつ人だに世にはある物を君戀る身と知られぬぞうき
| nakina tatu Fito dani yo ni Fa aru mono wo kimi koFuru mi to sirarenu zo uki |
Baseless rumours rise Of folk in this world – That happens, but That I love you Goes unknown is painful, indeed! |
Jitsugen
実源
Left (Tie).
足引の山路の秋になる袖はうつろふ人のあらしなりけり
| ashihiki no yamaji no aki ni naru sode wa utsurou hito no arashi narikeri |
Leg wearying Mountain trails in autumn Have my sleeves become, For she fades from my life, as A departing storm… |
Lord Sada’ie.
971
Right.
この世には吉野の山の奧にだにありとはつらき人に知られじ
| kono yo ni wa yoshino no yama no oku ni dani ari to wa tsuraki hito ni shirareji |
Within this world, were I In the Yoshino mountains’ Heart, even so That cruel One would know it not! |
Jakuren.
972
The Right state: the Left’s poem does not refer to a specific mountain – we wonder whether this is acceptable? In addition, ‘in autumn have my sleeves’ (aki ni naru sode) and ‘she…as a storm’ (hito no arashi) is difficult to understand. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to indicate.
In judgement: in connection with the criticism made of the Left’s poem, I do not feel that it is always essential to refer to a specific mountain. The other matters are, indeed, difficult to understand. The underlying sense of the Right’s poem seems overly pretentious. It is reminiscent of the tales of Boyi and Shuqi, or of Jie Zhitui, and Mount Shouyang and Mount Mian. Really, it does put me in mind of the Four White-Headed Recluses of Mount Shang, where it says, ‘They emerged due to the plans of Zhang Liang, made for Huidi, who said, “Though I may lie down with the greybeards, enjoying Mount Shang myself, all, in the end, are people under Zhang Liang.”’ It is extremely difficult, in the end, to make these sentiments relevant to our own land. Thus, I find it inappropriate to accept the content of the Right’s poem. The Left’s poem has its faults, too, so cursorily, I make this round a tie.
Composed at his hut in the mountains, after becoming a monk.
山里は庭の梢の音待ても世をすさみたる景色なるかな
| yamazato wa niwa no kozue no oto matemo yo o susamitaru keshiki kana |
In a mountain dwelling, From the treetops in the grounds I await a sound, yet How awful I feel is the world Laid before me… |
Saigyō
西行
A travel poem, included in a hundred poem sequence he composed, lamenting his fate.
世中は憂きふししげし篠原や旅にしあれば妹夢に見ゆ
| yo no naka wa ukifushi shigeshi shinohara ya tabi ni shi areba imo mo yume miyu |
This world of ours Is lush with misery; To Shinohara Am I gone a’travelling, where I glimpse my darling in my dreams… |
Fujiwara no Shunzei
藤原俊成
夏の日の俄かに曇る夕立の思ひもかけぬ世にもあるかな
| natu no Fi no niFka ni kumoru yuFudati no omoFi mo kakenu yo ni mo aru kana |
A summer day Briefly clouded by An evening shower: How unexpected Is this world! |
空蝉の出でがたくても過すかないかでこの世にあとをとどめむ
| utsusemi no idegatakute mo sugusu kana ikade kono yo ni ato o todomemu |
A cicada shell Is hard to reveal, yet Endures; Somehow within this world A trace will remain… |
Minamoto no Shunrai
浮き立ちて宿も定めぬ海人の子はなかなか世にや住みよかるらむ
| ukitachite yado mo sadamenu ama no ko wa nakanaka yo ni ya sumi yokaruran |
Drifting about With no certain home, Can a diving girl Easily within this world Find a living? |
Fujiwara no Shunzei
藤原俊成