The Beginning of Autumn
Left (Win—in a certain book Tie)
しぐれにもあめにもあらぬはつぎりのたつにもそらはさしくもりけり
| shigure ni mo ame ni mo aranu hatsugiri no tatsu ni mo sora wa sashikumorikeri | Neither a shower Nor rain, The first mists Simply rise into the skies And cover all with cloud. |
11
Right
としごとにあふとはすれどたなばたのぬるよのかずぞすくなかりける
| toshi goto ni au to suredo tanabata no nuru yo no kazu zo sukunakarikeru | Every year She meets him, yet The Weaver Maid’s Nights of passion Are few indeed. |
Mitsune
12
The End of Summer
Left
なくこゑはするものからに身はむなしあなおぼつかなうつせみのよや
| naku koe wa suru mono kara ni mi wa munashi ana obotsukana utsusemi no yo ya | Their voices sing And yet Their flesh is empty— O, how strange is A cicada shell world! |
Tadamine
9
Right (Win)
ほととぎすをちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみのさみだれのこゑ
| hototogisu ochikaeri nake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no koe | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: The song of a summer shower. |
Mitsune
10
The Beginning of Summer
Left
ふるさとはこだかけれどもきみならぬほととぎすにもうとまれにけり
| furusato wa kodakakeredomo kimi naranu hototogisu ni mo utomarenikeri | Around this ancient estate The trees grow high, yet Not by you alone, By the cuckoo, too Am I despised. |
Tadamine
7
Right (Win)
やまがつのかきほにさけるうのはなはたがしろたへのころもかけしぞ
| yamagatsu no kakiho ni sakeru u no hana wa ta ga shirotae no koromo kakeshi zo | Along the mountain man’s Lattice fence bloom Deutzia: Whose white mulberry Robes are hung there? |
Mitsune
8
The End of Spring
Left
をしめどもとどまらなくにはるがすみかへるみちにしたちぬとおもへば
| oshimedomo todomaranaku ni haragasumi kaeru michi nishi tachinu to omoeba | Though sad am I, There’s no stopping it: The spring haze On its homebound path Has departed. |
Motokata
5
Right (Win)
とどむべきものとはなしにはかなくもちるはなごとにたぐふこころか
| todomubeki mono to wa nashi ni hakanaku mo chiru hanagoto ni taguu kokoro ka | That would halt them There is nothing, yet How hopelessly To every scattered flower My heart is drawn. |
Mitsune
6
The Middle of Spring
Left (Win)
春はなほわれにてしりぬはなざかりこころのどけき人はあらじな
| haru wa nao ware nite shirinu hanazakari kokoro nodokeki hito wa araji na | That spring endures I know well; The profusion of blossom means A peaceful heart has No one at all… |
Tadamine
3
Right
はかなくてはるひとつきはくれにけりはなのさかりはすぎがてにせよ
| hakanakute haru hitotsuki wa kurenikeri hana no sakari wa sugigate ni seyo | The brief First month of spring Has reached its eve; O, to make the blossoms’ profusion Impossible to pass away! |
Mitsune
4
Left
| Mibu no Tadamine | Ariwara no Motokata | Taira no Sadafun |
Right
| Sakanoue no Korenori | Ki no Tsurayuki | Ōshikōchi no Mitsune |
The Beginning of Spring
Left (Tie)
はるたつといふばかりにやみよしののやまもかすみてけさはみゆらむ
| haru tatsu to iu bakari ni ya miyoshino no yama mo kasumite kesa wa miyuramu | Spring is here They simply say, but Is fair Yoshino Mountain, too, all hazed In view this morning, I wonder? |
Tadamine
1
Right
はるたちてなほふるゆきはむめのはなさくほどもなくちるかとぞみる
| haru tachite nao furu yuki wa mume no hana saku hodo mo naku chiru ka to zo miru | Spring is here, yet Still the snow falls—does, as Plum blossoms’ Brief flowering then Scattering, it truly seem? |
Mitsune
2
Regretting the Day of the Rat
Left
むねのひををしもぬかねばみだれおつるなみだのたまにかつぞけちつる
| mune no hi o o shimo nukaneba midare’otsuru namida no tama ni katsu zo kechitsuru | The fire within my breast Will not thread upon a string, but My disorderly dripping Gemstone tears will Yet extinguish it. |
Tsurayuki
23
Right (Win)
くらきよにともすほたるのむねのひををしもとけたるたまかとぞ見る
| kuraki yo ni tomosu hotaru no mune no hi o o shimo toketaru tama ka zo zo miru | On a night so dark, The kindled fireflies of The fire within my breast; Loosened from their string As scattered gemstones they appear. |
Tadamine
24
Wisteria
Left (Win)
おくつゆのひかりてたまぞみえまがふちのはながらにきえずもあらなむ
| oku tsuyu no hikarite tama zo miemagau chi no ha nagara ni kiezu mo aranamu | The fallen dewdrops Shine like gems Within my sight; From the budding leaves I would they vanished not! |
21
Right
あまつそらてりみくもりみゆくつきのふちのはなどはさやけかるらん
| ama tsu sora terimi kumorimi yuku tsuki no fuchi no ha nado wa sayakekaruran | Through the heaven-bound skies Shining, then clouding, Goes the moon, so Why, by this deep pool’s edge Should it show so clear? |
Fukayabu
22
Orchids
Left
はるきてはきのふばかりをあさみどりなべてけさこくのはなりにけり
| haru kite wa kinō bakari o asamidori nabete kesa koku no wa narikeri | Spring’s coming means, though Yesterday was simply Pale green, Everywhere, this morning deeper-hued Have the meadows become. |
Tsurayuki
19
Right
はるさめにしべゆるぶらし春のくさこくのはなべてさきみちにけり
| harusame ni shibe yuruburashi haru no kusa koku no wa nabete sakimichinikeri | In the springtime rain, The flowers’ hearts seem loosened, so With spring plants’ hues Deepening, the meadows everywhere Have filled with blossom. |
20
Lilac Daphne
Left (Tie)
かたをかにひのはなばなにみえつるはこのもかのもにたれかつけつる
| kataoka ni hi no hanabana ni mietsuru wa konomo kanomo ni tare katsuketsuru | Upon the hillside The fires as flowers Do appear— Here and there, Who has kindled them? |
Tsurayuki
17
Right
わたつみのおきなかにひのはなれいでてもゆとみゆるはあまつほしかも
| watatsumi no oki naka ni hi no hanare’idete moyu to miyuru wa ama tsu hoshi kamo | Across the broad sea sweep Upon the offing, fires In the distance Burn it seems— Stars within the heavens, perhaps… |
Tomonori
18