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Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 24

Left

かりそめのみやたのまれぬ夏の日をなど空蝉のなきくらしつる

karisome no
mi ya tanomarenu
natsu no hi o
nado utsusemi no
nakikurashitsuru
Is my transient
Flesh untrustworthy?
On a summer day
Why does the cicada, an empty shell,
Cry the day away?

47[1]

Right

はかもなき夏のくさ葉におく露を命とたのむ虫のはかなさ

haka mo naki
natsu no kusaba ni
oku tsuyu o
inochi to tanomu
mushi no hakanasa
Fleetingly
Upon the blades of summer grass
Falls the dew—
A lifetime, I expect, for
The short-lived insects.

48


[1] A minor variant of this poem, with a headnote associating it with this contest, occurs in Shokugosenshū (XVI: 1058): かりそめの世やたのまれぬ夏の日をなどうつせみのなきくらしつる karisome no / yo ya tanomarenu / natsu no hi o / nado utsusemi no / nakikurashitsuru ‘Is this transient / World untrustworthy? / On a summer day / Why does the cicada, an empty shell, / Cry the day away?’