As a poem on willows.
青柳のいともてぬける白露の玉こきちらす春の山かぜ
| aoyagi no ito mo tenukeru shiratsuyu no tama kokichirasu haru no yamakaze | Pale green willow Threads are strung With silver dewdrops— Gems scattered by The breeze from off the mountains in springtime. |
After I had had various people compose on the scent of plum carried on the breeze.
このねぬるあさけの風にかをるなり軒ばの梅の春のはつ花
| kono nenuru asake no kaze ni kaoru nari nokiba no ume no haru no hatsubana | Having slept The dawntime breeze Is scented: Beneath my eaves the plum Shows spring’s first blossom. |
Composed on plum blossom.
春風はふけどふかねど梅花さけるあたりはしるくぞ有りける
| harukaze wa fuketobu kanedo mume no hana sakeru atari wa shiruku zo arikeru | Whether the breeze in springtime Blows, or blows not, that The plum blossom Is blooming here is Startlingly clear! |
Left (Win)
さくらちるこのしたかぜはさむからでそらにしられぬゆきぞふりける
| sakura chiru ko no shitakaze wa samukarade sora ni shirarenu yuki zo furikeru | The cherry scattering Breeze beneath the trees Lacks chill— Unaware from within the skies The snow is falling. |
Tsurayuki
13[i]
Right
わがこころはるのやまべにあくがれてながながしひをけふもくらしつ
| wa ga kokoro haru no yamabe ni akugarete naganagashi hi o kyō mo kurashitsu | My heart to The mountainside in springtime Is drawn— The long, long day Today, too, has reached its dusk. |
Mitsune
14[ii]
The Left wins. ‘The Right has “long, long” which is a disagreeable word. It was hissed through pursed lips with drooping shoulders,’ and so it lost.
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (I: 64), with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] This poem is included in Shinkokinshū (I: 81), attributed to Tsurayuki with the headnote ‘A poem from Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
Spring
Ten Poems on the Second Month
Left
あをやぎのえだにかかれるはるさめはいともてぬけるたまかとぞみる
| aoyagi no eda ni kakareru harusame wa ito mo te nukeru tama ka to zo miru | Upon the green willow Branches hang Spring raindrops— As if each frond were hand-threaded With gems do they appear. |
Ise
1
Right
あさみどりそめてみだれるあをやぎのいとをばはるのかぜやよるらむ
| asamidori somete midareru aoyagi no ito oba haru no kaze ya yoruramu | Pale green Dyes the tangled Willow Fronds—do spring’s Breeze they seem to beckon? |
Korenori
2
I’d say both of these are good—a tie.
Left
あきののをみなへしるともささわけにぬれにしそでやはなとみゆらむ
| aki no no o mina heshiru to mo sasa wake ni nurenishi sode ya hana to miyuramu | Through the autumn meadows Everyone knows to pass, yet Forging through the dwarf bamboo Will my sleeves, so drenched, Appear as the flowers do?[1] |
3
Right
をみなへしあきののかぜにうちなびきこころひとつをたれによすらん
| ominaeshi aki no nokaze ni uchinabiki kokoro hitotsu o tare ni yosuran | The maidenflower, With a breeze across the autumn fields, Waves back and forth; Having but a single heart, To whom does she incline, I wonder? |
The Minister of the Left[2]
4[3]
[1] This poem is an acrostic, where the syllables of the word ‘maidenflower’ (ominaeshi) are included as part of other words in the poem. It is thus understood that the final reference to ‘flowers’ (hana 花) is to these.
[2] Fujiwara no Tokihira 藤原時平 (871-909).
[3] Kokinshū IV: 230; Shinsen man’yōshū 532; Kokin rokujō 3660
Left
吹く風の我が宿にくる夏の夜は月の影こそすずしかりけれ
| fuku kaze no wa ga yado ni kuru natsu no yo wa tsuki no kage koso suzushikarikere | The gusting breeze Comes to my house Upon a summer night Making the moonlight Feel cool, indeed! |
57
Right
ゆふされば蛍よりけにもゆるとも光みえねば人ぞつれなき
| yū sareba hotaru yori ke ni moyuredomo hikari mineba ya hito no tsurenaki | With the fall of evening, The fireflies’ are as nothing beside My burning, yet I cast no light, so Will my love stay chill? |
Tomonori
58[1]
[1] Kokinshū XII: 562/Shinsen man’yōshū 69/Kokin rokujō VI: 4013
Left
夏の風我が袂にしつつまればおもはむ人のつとにしてまし
| natsu no kaze wa ga tamoto ni shi tsutsumareba omowamu hito no tsuto ni shitemashi | The summer breeze Within my sleeves Has become entangled, so For the one I’m longing for I would take it as a gift. |
51
Right
なつ草のしげき思ひは蚊遣火の下にのみこそもえ渡りけれ
| natsukusa no shigeki omoi wa kayaribi no shita ni nomi koso moewatarikere | As summer grasses Lush my fires of passion: as Mosquito smudges, Beneath they simply Burn everywhere. |
52[1]
[1] Shinchokusenshū XII: 709/Shinsen man’yōshū 79
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