Round Ninety-Eight

Left

たよりあらばいかでみやこへつげやらむけふしらかはの関はこえぬと

tayori araba ikade miyako e tsuge yaramu kyō shirakawa no seki wa koenu to

Had I but a messenger Somehow, to the capital I would send word— That today the Shirakawa Barrier I have passed through…

195[1]

Right

吹くかぜの色こそみえねたかさごのをのへの松に秋はきにけり

fuku kaze no iro koso mienu takasago no onoe no matsu ni aki wa kinikeri

In the gusting wind There’s no colour to be seen Yet to Takasago’s Pine-treed peaks Autumn has come.

196[2]

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[1] Shūishū VI: 339: When he was passing the barrier at Shirakawa on the way to Michinoku.

[2] Shinkokinshū IV: 290: Composed when looking at a drawing of Takasago on a screen in the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings.