今宵かく心づくしの言の葉や秋をとどむる門司の関守
| koyoi kaku kokorozukushi no koto no ha ya aki o todomuru moji no sekimori |
This night I have drained my heart Of words; Autumn longing halted by The barrier at Moji. |
Kenshō
Tag Archives: aki
Love IV: 23
Left (Win).
君もまた夕や分きて眺むらん忘れず拂ふ荻の風哉
| kimi mo mata yūbe ya wakite nagamuran wasurezu harau ogi no kaze kana |
Are you, once more, my darling, Spending this evening On thoughts of love? Faithfully sweeps The wind across the silver-grass… |
A Servant Girl.
825
Right.
時しもあれ悲しかりける思ひかな秋の夕に人は忘れじ
| toki shi mo are kanashikarikeru omoi kana aki no yūbe ni hito wa wasureji |
Of all the times there are, now Does sadness Most fill my thoughts; On an autumn evening Unable to forget her… |
Ietaka.
826
The Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘faithfully sweeps’ (wasurezu harau). The Left state: while the Right’s poem is in keeping with the conception of the topic, it seem as if the reference to ‘evening’ serves little purpose.
In judgement: the Left’s ‘Spending this evening on thoughts of love’ (yūbe ya wakite nagamuran) is appropriate, but I find ‘The wind across the silver-grass’ (ogi no kaze) somewhat problematic. The initial section of the Right’s poem, too, is not bad, but saying ‘On an autumn evening unable to forget her’ (aki no yūbe ni hito wa wasureji) suggests that forgetting is the norm, and I wonder about that. The Left wins on account of its initial section.
MYS III: 324
A poem composed Yamabe no Akahito when he climbed Kamioka.
みもろの 神なび山に 五百枝さし しじに生ひたる 栂の木の いや継ぎ継ぎに 玉葛 絶ゆることなく ありつつも やまず通はむ 明日香の 古き都は 山高み 川とほしろし 春の日は 山し見がほし 秋の夜は 川しさやけし 朝雲に 鶴は乱れ 夕霧に かはづは騒く 見るごとに 音のみし泣かゆ いにしへ思へば
| mimoro no kamunabi yama ni iope sasi sidi ni opitaru tuga no ki no iya tugitugi ni tamakadura tayuru koto naku aritutu mo yamazu kayopamu asuka no puruki miyako pa yama takami kawa toposirosi paru no pi pa yama si migaposi aki no yo pa kapa si sayakesi asagumo ni tadu pa midare yupugiri ni kawadu wa sawagu miru goto ni ne nomi si nakayu inisie omopeba |
On the sacred Mountain of the Gods With many branches Flourishing grow Hemlock trees, All and ever joined with Hydrangea Never-ending Always there Ever would I be In Asuka, The ancient capital, where Mountains mighty and Rivers grand do lie, and On spring days It is the mountains I would see; On autumn nights The river, so refreshing! Amongst the morning clouds The cranes do swoop and soar; The evening mists Are noisy with the frogs; The simple sights Call forth my tears While I think on times gone by… |
Yamabe no Akahito
山部赤人
Shinsen waka rokujō 411
MYS X: 2262
Ise Mongatari, Chapter 96
Written by a woman and sent to a man whom she had promised to marry, after her family have disagreed and taken her away:
秋かけていひしながらもあらなくに木の葉降りしくえにこそありけれ
| aki kakete iFisinagara mo aranakuni ko no Fa Furisiku e ni koso arikere |
‘When autumn comes’ I said, And yet, ‘tis not to be; Fallen leaves swept along The inlet, indeed! |
Love III: 24
Left.
君や憂き空やはつらきともすればあはれあな憂とうち眺めつつ
| kimi ya uki sora ya wa tsuraki tomo sureba aware ana u to uchinagametsutsu |
Is it your coldness, Or the sky’s cruelty? No, it is neither, that Feeling the cold Keeps me gazing at the heavens… |
Lord Ari’ie
767
Right (Win).
もの思ふ心の秋の夕まぐれ真葛が原に風渡るなり
| mono’omou kokoro no aki no yūmagure makuzu ga hara ni kaze watarunari |
Sunk in lonely thought Am I this autumn Evening: A field of arrowroot Blown over by the wind… |
Nobusada
768
The Right state: we find no faults to indicate in the Left’s poem. The Left state: the Right’s poem is commonplace, and the ending lacks force.
In judgement: although the Left’s poem reminds me of ‘Feeling the pain will I spend my time?’ (aware ana u to sugushitsuru kana), ‘the sky’s cruelty?’ (sora ya tsuraki) is also elegant [yū]. However, the expression ‘cold’ (u) appears in both the initial and final sections of the poem. The Right’s ‘field of arrowroot blown over by the wind’ (makuzu ga hara ni kaze watarunari) is charming. I don’t belief the ending lacks force. Both poems are fine, but as the Left contains a fault, the Right wins.
Love III: 19
Left.
引かへて荒き氣色をみだらおのこまごまとこそ恨かけつれ
| hikikaete araki keshiki o midarao no komagoma to koso uramikaketure |
You have changed, and Dishevelled in appearance As a piebald Colt, you are not, yet I hate you still! |
Kenshō
757
Right (Win).
露しげき秋の野も狭の眞葛原いつまでよその物と聞きけん
| tsuyu shigeki aki no no mo se no makuzubara itsu made yoso no mono to kikiken |
Dew drenched, The autumn field is all Covered with kuzu, For how long will such distant Whispers reach me? |
Lord Takanobu
758
The Right state: the Left’s poem sounds pretentious. We are also unable to accept the use of ‘colt, you are not’ (komagoma). The Left state: the Right’s poem sounds archaic.
In judgement: ‘Dishevelled in appearance as a piebald’ (araki keshiki o midarao) is entirely unacceptable style. As for ‘covered with kuzu’, while ‘field is all’ (no mo se) is also undesirable, the final section is elegant. It should win over ‘piebald’.
Love III: 8
Left (Win).
天川秋の七日を眺めつゝ雲のよそにも思ひけるかな
| ama no kawa no aki no nanoka o nagametsutsu kumo no yoso ni mo omoikeru kana |
On the River of Heaven, in Autumn on the Seventh Day I turn my gaze For beyond the clouds Fly my thoughts… |
735
Right.
かゝりける契ならずは七夕の心のほどをいかで知らまし
| kakarikeru chigiri naraba tanabata no kokoro no hodo o ikade shiramashi |
If such A bond as ours, it was not, The celestial lovers’ Hearts I could never understand. |
736
Both Left and Right state: we find no faults to mention, other than the old-fashioned nature of this poem
In judgement: the Left’s poem seems to sound well. It should win.
GSIS XI: 641
In the Eighth Month, sent to a woman with whom he had conversed since spring, saying she would meet him around autumn time.
待てといひし秋もなかばになりぬるを頼めかおきし露はいかにぞ
| mate to iisi aki mo nakaba ni narinuru wo tanome ka okisi tuyu Fa ika ni zo |
‘Just wait!’ you said and In the heart of autumn Are we now, but Your pledge and the fallen Dew – what has become of them? |
Lord Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu