Round Twelve

Left

かずならばかからましやは世中にいとかなしきはしづのをだまき

kazu naraba kakaramashi ya yo no naka ni ito kanashiki wa shizu no odamaki

If I were as other folk, then I would not be treated so! In this mundane world A thread of sorrow winds on The bobbin of my sorry lot!

23[i]

Right

あきしのやと山の里やしぐるらんいこまのたけに雲のかかれる

akishino ya toyama no sato ya shigururan ikoma no take ni kumo no kakareru

In Akishino On the houses at the mountain’s hem Showers must be falling, for The mount of Ikoma Is covered o’er with cloud.

24[ii]

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[i] SKKS XV: 1425/1424 When the parents of a woman with whom he had been conversing secretly heard about it and forbade it.

[ii] SKKS VI: 585 Topic unknown.

Round Eleven

Left

おもひきやひなのわかれにおとろへてあまのなはたぎいさりせんとは

omoiki ya hina no wakare ni otoroete ama no nawatagi izarisen to wa

I would not have thought it! Parted, in the boondocks and All at a loss, so As a fisherman, I shall take line in hand And fish away…

21[i]

Right

なげけとて月やは物をおもはするかこちがほなるわがなみだかな

nageke tote tsuki ya wa mono o omowasuru kakochi kao naru wa ga namida kana

What grieves me so – The moon? – when sunk In thought, It is a pretext for My tears, I think!

22[ii]

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[i] KKS XVIII: 961 Composed when he was exiled to Oki.

[ii] SZS XV: 929/926 Composed on the conception of Love before the moon.

Round Ten

Left

わたのはらやそ島かけてこぎ出でぬと人にはつげよあまのつりぶね

wata no hara yasoshima kakete kogiidenu to hito ni wa tsugeyo ama no tsuri bune

Across the wide seascape Toward the myriad isles I am sent rowing Tell that to them, Oh, fisher folk in your boats.

Consultant Ono no Takamura
19[i]

Right

ふりつみし高峰のみゆきとけにけりきよたき河の水のしらなみ

furitsumishi takane no miyuki tokenikeri kiyotakigawa no mizu no shiranami

Deep-fallen upon The peaks, the fair snows Have melted; Kiyotaki River’s Waters run with whitecaps.

Monk Saigyō
20[ii]

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[i] KKS IX: 407: When he was exiled to the province of Oki, he boarded a ship and, on departure, sent this to someone in the capital.

[ii] SKKS I: 27: As a spring poem.

Round Nine

Left

かささぎのわたせるはしにおく霜のしろきをみれば夜ぞふけにける

kasasagi no wataseru hashi ni oku shimo no shiroki o mireba yo zo fukenikeru

On a magpie Crossed bridge Frost lies; Seeing the whiteness Night, indeed, is over.

17[i]

Right

やまぢにてそほちにけりな白露のあかつきおきの木木のしづくに

yamaji nite sōchinikeri na shiratsuyu no akatsuki oki no kigi no shizuku ni

On a mountain path How damp have I become! Silver dewdrops Fall with the dawn In droplets from the trees…

18[ii]

---

[i] SKKS VI: 620: Topic unknown.

[ii] SKKS X: 924: For the Hundred Poem Sequences Commemorating the Reign of Former Emperor Horikawa.

Round Eight

Left

神なびのみむろの山のくずかづらうら吹きかへすあきは来にけり

kami nabi no mimuro no yama no kuzukazura urafukikaesu aki wa kinikeri

On the gods’ own Mountain The vine leaves Are blown underside-up: Autumn is here, indeed.

15[i]

Right

なにごとをまつとはなしにあけくれてことしもけふに成りにけるかな

nani goto o matsu to wa nashi ni akekurete kotoshi mo kyō ni narinikeru kana

What have I To wait for? Nothing! So I have passed the days and nights This year and now today Has arrived!

16[ii]

---

[i] SKKS IV: 285: Topic unknown.

[ii] KYS IV: 304/323: Composed on the conception of the very end of the year.

Round Seven

真木もくのひばらもいまだくもらぬにこまつがはらにあは雪ぞふる

makimoku no hibara mo imada kumoranu ni komatsu ga hara ni awayuki zo furu

In Makimoku The cypress groves are as yet Unclouded, while Upon the dwarf-pine groves Snow spume is falling!

Middle Counsellor Yakamochi
13[i]

Right

春日のの下もえわたる草のうへにつれなくみゆる春のあはゆき

kasugano no shitamoewataru kusa no ue ni tsurenaku miyuru haru no awayuki

On the plain at Kasuga Sprouting freshly everywhere are Grasses, but atop them Heartlessly, I see The foamy snow of spring!

Middle Counsellor Kunizane
14[ii]

---

[i] A variant of this poem occurs in Man’yōshū (X: 2318/2314). A minor variant on this poem is also included in Kokin rokujō (I: 754). A further variant appears in Shinkokinshū (I: 20).

[ii] SKKS I: 10: Composed on the conception of lingering snow, for the Hundred Poem Sequences Commemorating the Reign of Former Emperor Horikawa.

Round Six

Left

和歌のうらにしほみちくれば潟をなみあしべをさしてたづなきわたる

waka no ura ni shio michikureba kata o nami ashibe o sashite tazu nakiwataru

Off the beach at Waka With the rising tide The sandbanks vanish and Plunging to the reedbeds The cranes fly over, calling.

11[i]

Right

わたのはらこぎいでてみれば久方の雲井にまがふおきつしらなみ

wata no hara kogi’idedete mireba hisakata no kumoi ni magau oki tsu shiranami

When across the wide seascape On rowing out I turn my gaze The eternal Clouds are tangled with The whitecaps in the offing.[ii]

12[iii]

---

[i] MYS VI: 924/919

[ii] An allusive variation on Omuro gojisshu 601.

[iii] SKS X: 382/380: Composed by command on the topic of a distant view across the sea when His Majesty [Emperor Sutoku] was newly retired as emperor.

Round Five

Left

ももしきの大宮人はいとまあれやさくらかざしてけふもくらしつ

momoshiki no ōmiyabito wa itoma are ya sakura kazashite kyō mo kurashitsu

The hundredfold Palace folk have Leisure time, indeed: Arranging cherry blossoms, Have they spent this day!

9[i]

Right

おもひかねそなたの空をながむればただ山のはにかかるしら雲

omoikane sonata no sora o nagamureba tada yama no ha ni kakaru shirakumo

Unbearable is my heart’s pain— Upon the distant skies I gaze, but Simply upon the mountains’ edge Cling clouds of white.[ii]

10[iii]

---

[i] SKKS II: 104: Topic unknown.

[ii] An allusive variation on Rinkashū 205).

[iii] SKS X: 381/379: Composed and sent to Master of the Right Capital Office Akisuke when he was Governor of Ōmi, to remark on his travelling to a distant district.

Round Four

Left

あすからはわかなつまんとしめし野にきのふもけふもゆきはふりつつ

asu kara wa wakana tsuman to shimeshi no ni kinō mo kyō mo yuki wa furitsutsu

From the morrow I thought to pick fresh herbs, but Upon my roped off meadow Yesterday and today, too, The snow is ever falling…

Yamabe no Akahito
7[i]

Right

さざなみや国つみかみのうらさびてふるき宮こに月ひとりすむ

sazanami ya kunitsumikami no urasabite furuki miyako ni tsuki hitori sumu

Wavelets have washed The guardian god Chilling his heart, for At the ancient capital The solitary moon shines clear.

The Hosshōji Lay Priest and Former Chancellor and Palace Minister
8[ii]

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[i] SKKS I: 11: Topic unknown. Minor variants of this poem also occur in Man’yōshū (VIII: 1427) and Kokin rokujō (I: 43).

[ii] SZS XVI: 981/978 Composed when he composed a large number of poems about the moon.

Round Three

Left

をとめ子が袖ふるやまの水がきのひさしきよよりおもひそめてき

otomego ga sode furu yama no mizugaki no hisashiki yo yori omoisometeki

Maidens, Sleeves waving at Furu Mountain’s Sacred walls, have there Ever been; as long Has love stained my heart.

5[i]

Right

おきつかぜふきにけらしな住吉の松のしづえをあらふしらなみ

okitsukaze fukinikerashi na sumiyoshi no matsu no shizue o arau shiranami

The wind in the offing Is gusting, it seems, for At Sumiyoshi The pines’ low branches Are washed by whitecaps.

6[ii]

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[i] SIS XIX: 1210: Topic unknown.

[ii] GSIS XVIII: 1063/64:  Composed on the instructions of His Majesty, on the way back from Sumiyoshi, when he had accompanied him there in the Third Month, Enkyū 5 [April 1073].