Left
かくをしむあきにしあはばをみなへしうつろふことはわすれやはせぬ
kaku oshimu aki ni shi awaba ominaeshi utsurou koto wa wasure ya wa senu If feeling such regret
11
Right
ながきよにたれたのめけむをみなへしひとまつむしのえだごとになく
nagaki yo ni tare tanomekemu ominaeshi hito matsumushi no edagoto ni naku On a long, long night
12[1]
[1] Shinsen man’y ōshū 536; Fubokushō 4231
Left
あさぎりとのべにむれたるをみなへしあきをすぐさずいひもとめなん
asagiri to nobe ni muretaru ominaeshi aki o sugusazu ii mo tomenan Amid the morning mists
9
Right
あきかぜのふきそめしよりをみなへしいろふかくのみみゆるのべかな
akikaze no fukisomeshi yori ominaeshi iro fukaku nomi miyuru nobe kana Since the autumn wind
10
Left
しらつゆのおけるあしたのをみなへしはなにもはにもたまぞかかれる
shiratsuyu no okeru ashita no ominaeshi hana ni mo ha ni mo tama zo kakareru Silver dewdrops
7[1]
Right
をみなへしたてるのざとをうちすぎてうらみむつゆにぬれやん
ominaeshi tateru nozato o uchisugite uramimu tsuyu ni nure ya wataran A maidenflower
8
[1] Gyokuyōshū 526; Shinsen man’yōshū 606; Kokin rokujō 3687
Left
あきごとにさきはくれどもをみなへしけふをまつとのなにこそありけれ
aki goto ni saki wa kuredomo ominaeshi kyō o matsu to no na ni koso arikere Every single autumn
5[1]
Right
さやかにもけさはみえずやをみなへしきりのまがきにたちかくれつつ
sayaka ni mo kesa wa miezu ya ominaeshi kiri no magaki ni tachikakuretsutsu Clearly
6[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 518
[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 540
Left
あきののをみなへし るともささわけにぬれにしそでやはなとみゆらむ
aki no no o mina heshi ru to mo sasa wake ni nurenishi sode ya hana to miyuramu Through the autumn meadows[1]
3
Right
をみなへしあきののかぜにうちなびきこころひとつをたれによすらん
ominaeshi aki no nokaze ni uchinabiki kokoro hitotsu o tare ni yosuran The maidenflower,
The Minister of the Left[2] [3]
[1] This poem is an acrostic, where the syllables of the word ‘maidenflower’ (ominaeshi ) are included as part of other words in the poem. It is thus understood that the final reference to ‘flowers’ (hana 花) is to these.
[2] Fujiwara no Tokihira 藤原時平 (871-909).
[3] Kokinshū IV: 230; Shinsen man’yōshū 532; Kokin rokujō 3660
In the year after that in which the Teishi Emperor relinquished the throne, he held a maidenflower match, making no instruction as to who should lead the teams of the Left and Right, so His Majesty and Her Majesty, the Empress, fulfilled those roles.
Left
くさがくれあきすぎぬべきをみなへしにほひゆゑにやまづみえぬらむ
kusagakure aki suginubeki ominaeshi nioi yue ni ya mazu mienuramu Hidden ‘mongst the grasses
1[1]
Right
あらがねのつちのしたにてあきへしはけふのうらてをまつをみなへし
aragane no tsuchi no shita nite aki heshi wa kyō no urate o matsu ominaeshi As ore
2[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 508
[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 530; Fubokushō 4229.
Left
人しれずしたにながるる涙川せきとどめなむかげは見ゆると
hito shirezu shita ni nagaruru namidagawa seki todomenamu kage wa miyuru to Unknown to all
192[1]
Right
もえもあはぬこなたかなたの思ひかな涙の河の中にゆけばか
moe mo awanu konata kanata no omoi kana namida no kawa no naka ni yukeba ka Burning, unmatched, are
Tsurayuki
[1] Shokugosenshū XI: 640/Shinsen man’yōshū 227.
Left
恋しきに侘びてたましひまどひなば空しきからの名にやのこらむ
koishiki ni wabite tamashii madoinaba munashiki kara no na ni ya nokoramu If, for love of you and
190[1]
Right
あかずして今朝のかへりぢおもほえず心をひとつおきてこしかば
akazushite kesa no kaeriji omohoezu kokoro o hitotsu okitekoshikaba Still hungering for you
191
[1] Kokinshū XII: 571/Shinsen man’yōshū 219/Kokin rokujō IV: 1983
Left
あさかげに我が身はなりぬ白雲のたえてきこえぬ人をこふとて
asakage ni wa ga mi wa narinu shirakumo no taete kikoenu hito o kou tote In the morning light
188
Right
ちかけれど人め人めをもるころは雲井はるけき身とやなりなん
chikakeredo hitome hitome o moru koro wa kumoi harukeki mi to ya narinan Close by, they are, yet
189
Left
住吉のきしによる波夜さへや夢のかよひ路人めよくらむ
sumiyoshi no kishi ni yoru nami yoru sae ya yume no kayoiji hitome yokuramu On Sumiyoshi’s
186
Right
夕附夜おぼろに人を見てしより天雲はれぬ心地こそすれ
yūzukuyo oboro ni hito o miteshi yori amagumo harenu kokochi koso sure On a moonlit evening
187
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