Summer
Left
夏くればかみにあふひの草つみてかざしにいのるひとにばかりぞ
natsu kureba kami ni aoi no kusa tsumite kazashi ni inoru hito ni bakari zo When the summer comes For the God, hollyhocks Are plucked, and for a Prayer placed in the hair of All folk, every one!
7
夏草も茂りにければ駿河なる田子のうらなへ今やひくらん
natsu kusa mo shigerinikereba suruga naru tago no ura nae ima ya hikuran The summer grasses, too, Have grown lush, so As Suruga’s Tago Bay, Do they now extend their charm?
8
夏虫のやどるにまつは色ならで春秋空にうつろひやする
natsumushi no yadoru ni matsu wa iro narade haru aki sora ni utsuroi ya suru The summer insects Lodge upon the pines Unchanging hues; Is it the spring and autumn skies Which fade away?
9
Right
卯花の咲く夏の夜はやみなれどかきねにやどる月かとぞみる
u no hana no saku natsu no yo wa yami naredo kakine ni yadoru tsuki ka to zo miru The deutzia flowers Bloom upon a summer night ‘Tis dark, yet Lodged upon my brushwood fence I wonder if I see the moon?
10
五月きぬことかたらはむほととぎす君にあふちの花も咲きけり
satsuki kinu koto katarawamu hototogisu kimi ni auchi no hana mo sakikeri That the Fifth Month has come Is announced by The cuckoo: For you, the chinaberry Blossoms, too, have bloomed.
11
空蝉のからにはあらで置く露の身をあらたむる心なるべし
utsusemi no kara ni wa arade oku tsuyu no mi o aratamuru kokoro narubeshi A cicada’s shed Shell I am not, for The dripping dew Does refresh my flesh, or So my heart seems to feel.
12
A profusion of deutzia flowers in full bloom
Left
白妙に卯花さけるかきねをばつもりし雪とおもひけるかな
shirotae ni u no hana sakeru kakine o ba tsumorishi yuki to omoikeru kana A spread of white mulberry cloth, The deutzias have bloomed Along my brushwood fence Drifting snow is piled, or So it seems!
Minamoto no Narikata 13
Right
みわたせばたかねののべのうつぎ原みな白妙にさきにけるかな
miwatseba takane no nobe no utsugiwara mina shirotae ni sakinikeru kana When I gaze across The high-peak meadows A field of deutzia, All as white as mulberry cloth, Have bloomed there.
Ōe no Fumi’ichi 14
Ancient Estates 故郷
たが宿としらねどかなしふる郷のほどはかきねに見えしわたれば
ta ga yado to shiranedo kanashi furusato no hodo wa kakine ni mieshi watareba Whose lodging this is I know not – ‘tis sad; How ancient this estate Its brushwood fence Revealed as I passed by…
Toshiyori
妹が家路みち黄昏になる時は垣根の花を訪ねてぞ行く
imo ga iFedi
miti tasogare ni
naru toki Fa
kakine no Fana wo
tadunete zo yuku
The way to my darling’s house is
In full dusk;
That is the hour
The blossom in the brushwood fence
I do go to visit!
逢坂の道に垣ほは越えながらまだ許されぬ下紐の関
aFusaka no
miti ni kakiFo Fa
koenagara
mada yurusarenu
sitaFimo no seki
On Meeting Hill’s
Paths is a brushwood fence;
I pass it, yet
Am not permitted
The barrier of Shitahimo – your under-belt!
Fujiwara no Moroji (913-970)
藤原師氏
Left.
夏草のもとも拂はぬ故郷に露よりうへを風通ふなり
natsu kusa no
moto mo harawanu
furusato ni
tsuyu yori ue o
kaze kayounari
The summer grasses
Are yet uncut
At this ancient home of mine;
Over the fallen dewdrops,
The sound of gusting wind…
A Servant Girl .
203
Right (Win).
夏草のなかを露けみ分くる野はわが故郷の垣根なりけり
natsu kusa no
naka o tsuyukemi
wakuru no wa
wa ga furusato no
kakine narikeri
Within the summer grasses
Dewy depths,
Forging ‘cross the plain and
My ancient home’s
Brushwood fence appears.
Nobusada .
204
The Right team query, ‘How is it that the wind can pass “over the fallen dewdrops” (tsuyu yori ue o )?’ The Left content themselves with saying that the Right’s poem is ‘difficult to grasp’.
Shunzei, though, remarks, ‘The Left’s “over the fallen dewdrops” is a wonderfully charming expression. It is the initial “are yet uncut” (moto mo harawanu ) which is extremely difficult to understand. The Right’s configuration and diction seem particularly fine [sugata kotoba yoroshiku koso haberumere ], though, so it is, just, the winner.’
同じくは桐の落葉も降りしけな拂ふ人なき秋のまがきに
onajiku wa
kiri no ochiba mo
furishikena
harau hito naki
aki no magaki ni
All is the same:
The drooping paulownia leaves
May as well fall
For there is no to sweep them from
My brushwood fence this autumn.
Topic unknown.
うの花のさきぬるときはしろたへのなみもてゆへるかきねとぞみる
u no hana no
sakinuru toki wa
shirotae no
nami moteyueru
kakine to zo miru
The deutzia
When in bloom,
White cords
Of breakers bound
Upon the brushwood fence, do seem.
Senior Assistant Governor General of the Dazaifu [Fujiwara no] Shige’ie (1128-1180)
Composed when feeling that it was the end of the Fourth Month.
うの花のむらむらさけるかきねをば雲まの月のかげかとぞみる
u no hana no
muramura sakeru
kakine o ba
kumo ma no tsuki no
kage ka to zo miru
The deutzia
Blooming in profusion
Along the brushwood fence
Through the cloud-breaks moon
Light do appear to be.
Emperor Shirakawa (1053-1129) (r. 1072-1086)
'Simply moving and elegant'