Round Eight
Left
秋風の吹来る声はやまながらなみ立ちかへるおとぞきこゆる
| akikaze no fukikuru koe wa yama nagara nami tachikaeru oto zo kikoyuru | The autumn breeze’s Cry comes gusting; And in the mountains, The sound of waves washing back and forth Comes to my ears. |
15
Right
すみの江の松を秋風吹くからにこゑうちそふる沖つ白なみ
| suminoe no matsu o akikaze fuku kara ni koe uchisouru oki tsu shiranami | At Suminoe The pines by the autumn breeze Are blown, so The sound lies atop The whitecaps in the offing. |
16
Autumn
Left
秋の夜の有明にみれど久堅の月のかつらはうつろはぬかな
| aki no yo no ariake ni miredo hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa utsurouwanu kana | An autumn night’s Dawn I see, yet The eternal Moon’s silver trees Show no sign of fading! |
13
秋萩の花咲く比の白露は下ばのためとわきて置くべし
| aki hagi no hana saku koro no shiratsuyu wa shitaba no tame to wakite okubeshi | In autumn, the bush clover Flowers bloom—just then Silver dewdrops For the under-leaves Do fall, marking every one. |
14
秋風はいなばもそよとふきつめりかりみる程と成りやしぬらん
| akikaze wa inaba mo soyo to fukitsumeri kari miru hodo to nari ya shinuran | The autumn breeze Seems to rustle the rice stalks As it blows; Seeing if ‘tis time to reap them— Is that what it is, I wonder? |
15
Right
銀河とわたる舟は花薄ほにいづるほどぞかげもみゆべき
| ama no kawa towataru fune wa hanasusuki ho ni izuru hodo zo kage mo miyubeki | Across the River of Heaven A boat goes ferrying: When the silver grass Ears burst into bloom, Can its shape be seen. |
16
女郎花さがの花をば色ながら秋をさかりといはれずもがな
| ominaeshi saga no hana oba iro nagara aki o sakari to iwarezu mogana | Maidenflowers: Blossoms from Saga Reveal their hues, and In autumn are most fine—that Goes without saying! |
17
小男鹿の朝たつ霧にうりふ山嶺の梢は色こかりけり
| saoshika no asa tatsu kiri ni urifuyama mine no kozue wa iro kokarikeri | Stags Within the rising morning mist on Urifu Moutain, where The treetops on the peak Have taken darker hues. |
18
あきかぜになみやたつらんあまのがはすぐるまもなくつきのながるる
| akikaze ni nami ya tatsuramu ama no kawa sukuru ma mo naku tsuki no nagaruru | Might it be the autumn wind that Has raised the waves upon The River of Heaven? There’s no space to pass for The moon, flowing by… |
61
つき見ればちぢにものこそかなしけれ我がみひとつのあきにはあらねど
| tsuki mireba chiji ni mono koso kanashikere wa ga mi hitotsu no aki ni wa aranedo | When I gaze upon the moon So many are my sources of Sadness; Though, it is not I, alone, who Is faced with autumn… |
62
あきかぜにすむよもぎふのかれゆけばこゑのことごとむしぞなくなる
| akikaze ni sumu yomogyū no kareyukeba koe no kotogoto mushi zo nakunaru | With the autumn wind, Their home, the mugwort, Begins to wither, so Every single Insect cries out. |
45
みるごとにあきにもあるかたつたひめもみぢそむとや山はきるらん[1]
| miru goto ni aki ni mo aru ka tatsutahime momiji somu to ya yama wa kiruran | Each time I see her Is it autumn? Princess Tatsuta, I wonder, are she dying scarlet leaves, So that she may wear the mountains? |
46
[1] This poem occurs in Kokin rokujō (648); and also in Tomonori-shū (27), suggesting that it may be by Ki no Tomonori.
Topic unknown.
あき風のふきくるよひはきりぎりす草のねごとにこゑみだれけり[1]
| akikaze no fukikuru yoi wa kirigirisu kusa no ne goto ni koe midarekeri | The autumn wind Comes gusting late at night, when The crickets From every single blade of grass Let out confused cries. |
Anonymous
[1] This poem appears in the ‘Poetry Contest held at Prince Koresada’s House’ (Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase (42).
あきのよにたれをまつとかひぐらしのゆふぐれごとになきまさるらん
| aki no yo ni tare o matsu to ka higurashi no yūgure goto ni nakimasaruran | On an autumn night Who is it that you await, I wonder? The sundown cicadas With each evening Cry ever louder… |
41
あき風のふきくるよひはきりぎりす草のねごとにこゑみだれけり[1]
| akikaze no fukikuru yoi wa kirigirisu kusa no ne goto ni koe midarekeri | The autumn wind Comes gusting late at night, when The crickets From every single blade of grass Let out confused cries. |
42
From the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor. 花薄そよともすれば秋風の吹くかとぞ聞くひとり寝る夜は
| Fanasusuki soyo tomo sureba akikaze no Fuku ka to zo kiku Fitori nuru yo Fa | When the silver grass fronds Rustle all together, I wonder if ‘tis our autumn wind Blowing that I hear, Tonight, as I sleep alone… |
Ariwara no Muneyana
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
秋風にほころびぬらし藤袴つづりさせてふきりぎりすなく
| akikaze ni Fokorobinurasi Fudibakama tudurisasete teFu kirigirisu naku | With the autumn breeze Seem to have bloomed and twined The asters Bound together by the rasping Crickets’ cries.[1] |
Ariwara no Muneyana
[1] This poem is composed around a dual wordplay, which I have not been able to closely replicate in the translation. Hokorobu is simultaneously both ‘bloom fully’ and ‘thread (a needle)’ while tsuzuru is both ‘sew together’ and an onomatopoeic representation of the sound that a cricket makes.
On blossom.
真葛原靡く秋風吹くごとに阿太の大野の萩の花散る
| makuzu para nabiku akikaze puku goto ni ada no opono no pagi no pana tiru | The kudzu vines upon the moors Flutter in the autumn wind, As it blows Upon Ada plain The bush-clover blossoms scatter. |
On dew.
このころの秋風寒し萩の花散らす白露置きにけらしも
| kono koro no akikaze samusi pagi no pana tirasu siratuyu wokinikerasi mo |
At about this time The autumn wind is chill; Bush clover bloom Scattering silver dewdrops – Do they, perhaps, fall too? |
Anonymous