Round Forty-Two

Left

はかなくもあけにけるかな朝露のおきてののちぞきえまさりける

hakanaku mo akenikeru kana asatsuyu no okite no nochi zo kiemasarikeru

How swiftly Dawn has broken! The morning dew Arises, then Vanishes so skillfully—as do you!

83[i]

Right

ながらへてかはるこころをみるよりはあふにいのちをかへてましやは

nagaraete kawaru kokoro o miru yori wa au ni inochi o kaetemashi ya wa

To live on and Your inconstant heart See—Would I rather For a meeting my life Exchange

84[ii]

---

[i] SKKS XIII: 1171: Presented to the Ōmi Concubine.

[ii] A minor variant on SZS XIV: 881: Composed on the conception of unmet love with varying emotions, when he was ordered to produce a hundred poem sequence.

Round Forty-One

Left

むらさきの色にこころはあらねどもふかくぞ人をおもひそめつる

murasaki no iro ni kokoro wa aranedomo fukaku zo hito o omoisometuru

The violet[i] Hue is in my heart Nowhere to be found Yet deeply have you Started to stain my thoughts.

81[ii]

Right

しのぶるに心のひまはなけれどもなほもる物はなみだなりけり

shinoburu ni kokoro ni hima wa nakeredomo nao moru mono wa namida narikeri

Secretly longing, My heart has cracks Not a one, yet Still leaking out are My tears.

82[iii]

---

[i] The colour violet (murasaki), was renowned as being particularly deep, so the implication is that Daigo’s love is deeper than the deepest dye.

[ii] SKKS XI: 995: Sent to the Chūjō Junior Consort.

[iii] SKKS XI: 1037: Hidden love, when he composed a Hundred Poem Sequence.

Round Forty

Left

あし引の山郭公けふとてやあやめの草のねにたててなく

ashihiki no yamahototogisu kyō tote ya ayame no kusa no ne ni tatete naku

Leg wearying, The mountain cuckoo, Knowing today, perhaps, On the sweet-flag Roots does perch and sing.

Engi

79[i]

Right

ゆふさればをののあさぢふ玉ちりてこころくだくる風の音かな

yū sareba ono no asajū tama chirite kokoro kudakuru kaze no oto kana

When the evening comes All across the cogon-grass plain Scatter gemstones— Heart-tangling is The sound of wind!

The Later Hosshōji Lay Priest and Former Chancellor and Palace Minister

80[ii]

---

[i] SIS II: 111: Topic unknown.

[ii] SZS IV: 272: Composed as an autumn poem.

Round Thirty-Nine

Left

たちかへりあはれとぞおもふよそにても人に心をおきつしらなみ

tachikaeri aware to zo omou yoso nite mo hito ni kokoro o okitsu shiranami

Rising and returning, Filled with love, However distant You are, my heart Lifts with the whitecaps.

77[i]

Right

あふことはいつとなぎさのはま千どり浪のたちゐにねをのみぞなく

au koto wa itsu to nagisa no hamachidori nami no tachi’i ni ne o nomi zo naku

Our meeting— When will it be? On the seashore The plovers on the beach Amid the rising waves Simply let out sobbing cries!

78[ii]

---

[i] KKS XI: 474: Topic unknown.

[ii] KYS VII: 361/384: Topic unknown.

Left

おとは山おとにききつつあふさかのせきのこなたにとしをふるかな

otowa yama oto ni kikitsutsu ausaka no seki no konata ni tose o furu kana

As wing-beats in the mountains Do I hear tell of you; But on Meeting Hill Barrier’s inner side Must I spend my days?

75[i]

Right

ありすがはおなじながれはかはらねどみしやむかしの影ぞわすれぬ

arisugawa onaji nagare wa kawaranedo mishi ya mukashi no kage zo wasurenu

The Arisu River’s Flow is just the same and All unchanged, yet She who saw it, long ago— Her face never will I forget!

76[ii]

---

[i] KKS XI: 473: Topic unknown.

[ii] SKKS VIII: 827: After the death of Imperial Princess Shinshi, he had heard that Imperial Princess Sōshi was to move to her former residence, so he went to inspect it, but found everything unchanged; deep in memories of the distant past, he said this to one of the ladies-in-waiting.

Round Thirty-Seven

Left

かすみたつ春の山辺はとほけれどふきくる風は花のかぞする

kasumi tatsu haru no yamabe wa tōkeredo fukikuru kaze wa hana no ka zo suru

Hazes rise Round the mountains’ sides, So far away, and yet The gusting breeze comes Bearing the scent of blossom.

Ariwara no Motokata

73[i]

Right

たづねきてたをるさくらの朝露に花のたもとのぬれぬ日ぞなき

tazunekite taoru sakura no asatsuyu ni hana no tamoto no nurenu hi zo naki

I pay a visit and Pluck, with my hand, a stem of cherry blossom; The morning dew My springtime sleeves Dampens every single day!

The Naka-no-in Minister of the Right

74[ii]

---

[i] KKS II: 103: A poem from the Poetry Contest held by Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager, during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.

[ii] SZS I: 53: Composed on the conception of seeing blossom every morning.

Round Thirty-Six

Left

いまこむといひしばかりになが月のあり明の月をまちいでつるかな

ima komu to iishi bakari ni nagatsuki no ariake no tsuki o machi’idetsuru kana

‘I will come now,’ He had said, but Until the Longest Month’s Dawntime moon Appeared, have I been waiting…

71[i]

Right

うれしくはのちの心を神もきけひくしめなはのたえじとぞおもふ

ureshiku wa nochi no kokoro o kami mo kike hiku shimenawa no taeji to zo omou

Should it please you, Let my heart in days to come— Heed my prayer, O, God— As a sacred garland strung I would it prove false never!

72[ii]

---

[i] KKS XIV: 691: Topic unknown.

[ii] SZS XII: 709/708: Composed on the conception of praying for love, for the same ten poem sequence.

Round Thirty-Five

Left

おとにのみきくのしら露よるはおきてひるはおもひにあへずけぬべし

oto ni nomi kiku no shiratsuyu yoru wa okite hiru wa omoi ni aezu kenubeshi

Only a rumour do I Hear: the chrysanthemum’s white dewdrops, Fall at night (I lie awake), And with the day’s weight of sun (laden with thoughts of you am I), Cannot endure and is gone (as will I be, lest we meet).

69[i]

Right

松がねにをばなかりしきよもすがらかたしく袖に雪はふりつつ

matsu ga ne ni obana karishiki yo mo sugara katashiku sode ni yuki wa furitsutsu

Upon the pine tree’s roots Reaped silver grass I’ve spread, and All through the night Atop my single spread sleeves The snow is ever falling…

70[ii]

---

[i] KKS XI: 470: Topic unknown.

[ii] SKKS X: 929: Composed on the conception of snow at one’s lodgings when travelling.

Round Thirty-Four

Left

われのみやあはれとおもはんきりぎりすなくゆふぐれの山となでしこ

ware nomi ya aware to omowan kirigirisu naku yūkage no yamato nadeshiko

Is it only I Who loves it so? Crickets Chirping in the evening shadows On the wild pinks.

Monk Sosei

67[i]

Right

おほゐがは井せきのおとのなかりせばこのはをしけるわたりとやみん

ōigawa iseki no oto no nakariseba ko no ha o shikeru watari o ya min

Upon the River Ōi If the weirs sounded Not, then At the leaves spread All around would we even look?

Master of the Palace Repairs Office Akisue

68[ii]

---

[ii] KKS IV: 244: A poem from the Poetry Competition held by Her Majesty, the Dowager Empress, during the Reign of the Kanpyō emperor.

[iii] KYS III: 248/264: When he was in service at an imperial progress to Ōi.

Round Thirty-Three

Left

わびぬればいまはたおなじ難波なる身をつくしてもあはむとぞ思ふ

wabinureba ima wa taonaji naniwa naru mi wo tsukushitemo awan to zo omou

Suffering I was, so Now, ‘tis just as then; By Naniwa’s Channel marks, though I die, I would meet you.

65[i]

Right

きえわびぬうつろふ人の秋の色に身を木がらしのもりのしらつゆ

kiewabinu utsurou hito no aki no iro ni mi o kogarashi no mori no shiratsuyu

I am too grieved to die! My fickle love showed me She’d had enough with autumn’s colours; Now, I yearn for her as the bitter wind Drenches the forest with silver dewfall.

66[ii]

---

[i] GSS XIII: 960/961. Sent to the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber (Fujiwara no Hōshi 藤原褒子) after things got out.

[ii] SKKS XIV: 1320: From the Poetry Contest in 1500 Rounds.