From the Poetry Match held by Tsurayuki in the Second Month. Tengyō 2 – The Middle of Winter.
しら雪の降りつもりぬるおく山はあからがしはもうづもれにけり
| shirayuki no furitsumorinuru okuyama wa akaragashiwa uzumorenikeri | Snow, so white, Has fallen, drifted high, Deep within the mountains The scarlet-leaved oaks Are completely buried. |
Anonymous
Love
Left
淡く濃く染めはじめたるもみぢ葉になどわが恋をおもひそむらむ
| usuku koku somehajimetaru momijiba ni nado wa ga koi o omoisomuramu | Both lightly and deeply Have begun to colour The scarlet leaves, so Why should my love Seem to occupy my thought so? |
25
Right
白露のおきてわかれし朝より消えかへりても恋ひわたるかな
| shiratsuyu no okite wakareshi ashita yori kiekaeritemo koiwataru kana | Silver dewdrops Fell as we parted— With the morning They may vanish, yet My love for you continues on! |
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The Beginning of Winter
Left
ほどもなく冬は来にけり神無月秋はまだきもみえなかくを
| hodo mo naku fuyu wa kinikeri kaminazuki aki wa madaki mo mienakaku o | Before I knew it Winter has arrived! In the Godless Month Autumn has only just Vanished from view… |
23
Right
神無月たてるをみれば白露のむすぼほれたる霜おきにけり
| kaminazuki tateru o mireba shiratsuyu no musubōretaru shimo okinikeri | When, the Godless Month’s Arrival I see, Silver dewdrops Have drenched The fallen frost. |
24
Love
Left
あまぐもに鳴きわたるなる雁がねはおくれし秋や恋しかるらむ
| amagumo ni nakiwataru naru kari ga ne wa okureshi aki ya koishikaruramu | Through the heavens’ clouds Crying, crossing go The geese, their calls, Delayed, might autumn’s surfeit Make me yearn for you more? |
21
Right
わが心あやしかりけり秋果ててゆくとみるみるなほぞ恋しき
| wa ga kokoro ayashikarikeri aki hatete yuku to mirumiru nao zo koishiki | My heart Feels strange, indeed! Autumn’s done, and I ever watch it leave, yet Still I yearn so strongly… |
22
The End of Autumn.
Left
琴の音に声よりあはせなく虫の秋のはつるはえこそしのばね
| koto no ne ni koe yori awase naku mushi no aki no hatsuru wa e koso shinobane | A zither’s strains Blended with the songs The insects cry, That autumn is ending They truly cannot recall! |
19
Right
長月の菊にぞ人をたのみつる花ひらくとも心うつるな
| nagatsuki no kiku zo hito o tanomitsuru hana hiraku tomo kokoro utsuru na | In the Longest Month A chrysanthemum, in a man Has placed its trust— The bloom may open, yet O, change not your heart! |
20
Love
Left
秋萩におく白露の消えかへり人をこひしとおもふころかな
| akihagi ni oku shiratsuyu no kiekaeri hito o koishi to omou koro kana | In autumn upon the bush clover Fall silver dewdrops, Vanishing away, with Her I loved— My feelings in those days! |
17[i]
Right
寒き夜はさごろも雁の声きけばかへすがへすぞ人はこひしき
| samuki yo wa sagoromo kari no koe kikeba kaesugaesu zo hito wa koishiki | On a night so chill, In a scanty robe, when the goose Cries I hear, Again and yet again Do I long for her… |
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[i] This poem is included in Shinshūishū (XII: 1011), with the headnote, ‘From the poetry match at Tsurayuki’s house’. A variant of it also appears in some Mandaishū (XV: 2458) texts; in others the version provided is as in the contest: From the poetry match held when Tsuryuki was in Suo province. 秋萩におく白露の澄みかへり人をこひしとおもふころかな aki hagi ni / oku shiratsuyu no / sumikaeri / hito o koishi to / omou koro kana ‘In autumn upon the bush-clover / Fall silver dewdrops / Ever clear / Her I loved— / My feelings in those days’.
The Middle of Autumn
Left
大空の道みえぬまでふる霧は秋のなかばにとめむとかもし
| ōzora no michi mienu made furu kiri wa aki no nakaba ni tomemu to kamo shi | Until all the endless sky Ways unseen are Descend the mists In the heart of autumn— Will they stay a while, I wonder? |
15
Right
女郎花おほくの秋にあふものをからくもあだにおもひけるかな
| ominaeshi ōku no aki ni au mono o karaku mo ada ni omoikeru kana | Maidenflowers Many in autumn Does one meet, but Bitterly, faithless Do I feel they are! |
16
Left
織女の年に一たび逢ふものをなどわが恋のはるけかるらむ
| tanabata no toshi ni hito tabi au mono o nado wa ga koi no harukekaruramu | The Weaver Maid But once a year A meeting may have, but Why is it my love Does seem to grow ever distant? |
13
Right
つゆに露われもろともにおきゐつつ恋する身さへ消えぬべきかな
| tsuyu ni tsuyu ware morotomo ni oki’itsutsu koisuru mi sae kienubeki kana | Dewfall upon dewdrops, Both do I Let ever fall— Love fills my flesh so It could fade away! |
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From the poetry match at Tsurayuki’s house in Tengyō 2 – The beginning of autumn.
松もなくしげき木の葉は夏ながらもみぢの色ぞ染めはじめける
| matsu mo naku shigeki no ha wa natsu nagara momiji no iro zo somehajimekeru | Not waiting at all The leaves upon the trees, so lush In summer, have With scarlet hues Begun to be dyed! |
Anonymous
