Tag Archives: birds

Kokinshū

KKS X: 442

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[An acrostic on] ryūtamu [gentian] blooms.

わがやどの花ふみしだくとりうたむのはなければやここにしもくる

wa ga yado no
Fana Fumisidaku
tori utamu
no Fa nakereba ya
koko ni simo kuru		My dwelling’s
Blooms a’trampling,
Those birds would I drive away!
Are there none within the meadows
That here they have come?

Ki no Tomonori

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.
Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta'awase

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 80

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Left

ふくみあへず消えなむ雪を冬の日の花と見ればや鳥のとむらん

fukumiaezu
kienamu yuki o
fuyu no hi no
hana to mireba ya
tori no touran		Unable enter in
The vanishing snow
On a winter’s day,
Mistaking it for blossom, is that why
The birds do seek it out?

155

Right

This poem is missing from extant texts of the competition.

Man'yōshū

MYS II: 153

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A poem by Her Majesty, the Dowager Empress.

鯨魚取り　近江の海を　沖放けて　漕ぎ来る船　辺付きて　漕ぎ来る船　沖つ櫂　いたくな撥ねそ　辺つ櫂　いたくな撥ねそ　若草の　夫の　思ふ鳥立つ

isana tori
opomi no umi wo
oki sakete
kogikitaru pune
pe tu kite
kogikuru pune
oki tu kai
itaku na pane so
pe tu kai
itaku na pane so
wakakusa no
tuma no
omopu tori tatu		 In the whale-hunting
Sea of Ōmi
From far off in the offing
Boats come rowing;
Nearing the shore,
Boats come rowing;
Off in the offing, oars
Beat not so hard!
By the shore, oars
Beat not so hard!
A fresh blade of grass –
My husband’s
Beloved birds you’ll start to flight!

Yamato Hime no Ōkimi
倭皇后