Original

ふるさとのかすがののべのくさもきもはるにふたたびあふことしかな

furusato no kasuga no nobe no kusa mo ki mo haru ni futatabi au kotoshi kana

At the ancient capital Upon Kasuga’s plain, Grasses and trees, both, Springtime have twice Met this year! [1]

Mitsune
34

Left (Win)

はるながらまたはるにあふかすがのにおひぬくさきはねたくやあるらん

haru nagara mata haru ni au kasugano ni oinu kusaki wa netaku ya aruran

‘Tis spring, but That springtime once more has come To Kasuga Plain, Won’t the grasses and trees growing there Be envied, indeed?

35

Right

ゆきかへるみちのやどりかかすがののくさきにはなのたびかさぬらむ

yukikaeru michi no yadori ka kasugano no kusaki ni hana no tabikasanuramu

Is it that arriving and departing, The lodging on spring’s path lies On Kasuga Plain, so On the grasses and trees, blossom Appears time and time again?

36

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[1] This poem occurs in Mitsune-shū (322) with the same headnote as for poem (22), above. It was also included in Shinsenzaishū (X: 980), with the headnote, ‘Composed in place of the Governor of Yamato in Engi 21, on the day when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited the shrine at Kasuga.’