Composed on blossom.
桜ばなちらまくをしみうちひさすみやぢの人ぞとのゐせりける
| sakurabana chirimaku oshimi uchihisasu miyaji no hito zo tonoiserikeru | The cherry blossom Is scattering—full of regret Lit by the shining sun The courtiers Attend it. |
Kinkai wakashū 45
Tag Archives: cherry blossom
Teiji-in uta’awase 19
Left
さくらばなちりぬるかぜのなごりにはみづなきそらになみぞたちける
| sakurabana chirinuru kaze no nagori ni wa mizu naki sora ni nami zo tachikeru | The cherry blossom Scattering wind as A keepsake in The waterless skies Has roused the waves. |
Tsurayuki
37
Right
みなそこにはるやくるらんみよしののよしののかはにかはづなくなり
| minasoko ni haru ya kururan miyoshino no yoshino no kawa ni kawazu nakunari | To the water’s depths Has the spring arrived, it seems, for In fair Yoshino From the Yoshino River The frogs are singing. |
Tsurayuki
38
The Right won. His Majesty remarked, ‘There is a Royal poem here, so how could it lose?’
Teiji-in uta’awase 12
Left (Tie)
うつつにはさらにもいはじさくらばなゆめにもちるとみえばうからむ
| utsutsu ni wa sara ni mo iwaji sakurabana yume ni mo chiru to mieba ukaramu | In the waking world There is nothing more I might say, O, cherry blossom! You scattering through my dreams— How I would hate to see it! |
Mitsune
23
Right
はなのいろをうつしとどめよかがみやまはるよりのちにかげやみゆると
| hana no iro o utsushi to tomeyo kagamiyama haru yori nochi ni kage ya miyuru to | The blossoms’ hues’ Reflection: hold it, Mirror Mountain! That after the springtime’s gone I might see their shades. |
Korenori
24[i]
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (I: 73), attributed to Korenori, with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest.’
Teiji-in uta’awase 11
Ten Poems on the Third Month
Left (Tie)
みてかへるこころあかねばさくらばなさけるあたりにやどやからまし
| mitekaeru kokoro akaneba sakurabana sakeru atari ni yado ya karamashi | Seeing you and returning home Leaves my heart unsated, O, cherry blossom! In the place where you do bloom is Where I would borrow lodging… |
Okikaze
21
Right
しののめにおきてみつればさくらばなまだよをこめてちりにけるかな
| shinonome ni okite mitsureba sakurabana mada yo o komete chirinikeru kana | At the edge of dawn, When I arise to gaze upon The cherry blossoms Within the night’s span Have they scattered! |
Yorimoto
22
The Right’s poem was just as His Majesty said: ‘It expresses affection for the blossom through gazing and gazing upon them.’ When it was suggested to him that the work produced by Lord Sadakata and Lord Noboru conveyed the same overall impression, he took his time to consider the matter, then said, ‘In that case,’ and made the round a tie.
Teiji-in uta’awase 08
Left (Tie)
さくらばないかでかひとのをりてみぬのちこそまさるいろもいでこめ
| sakurabana ikadeka hito no orite minu nochi koso masaru iro mo idekome | O, cherry blossom! Why would people Pick you—can not they see that ‘Tis later that your best Hues will emerge? |
Mitsune
15
Right
うたたねのゆめにやあるらむさくらばなはかなくみてぞやみぬべらなる
| utatane no yume ni ya aruramu sakurabana hakanaku mite zo yaminuberanaru | Dozing fitfully In my dreams might there be Cherry blossom? A brief glimpse, that Can be held right here… |
Mitsune
16
Teiji-in uta’awase 06
Left (Win)
はるかぜのふかぬよにだにあらませばこころのどかにはなはみてまし
| harukaze no fukanu yo ni dani aramaseba kokoro nodoka ni hana wa mitemashi | The spring breezes Not blowing of an evening—if only That were so, then With peace in my heart I would view the blossom |
His Majesty
11
Right
ちりぬともありとたのまむさくらばなはるはすぎぬとわれにきかすな
| chirinu tomo ari to tanomamu sakurabana haru wa suginu to ware ni kikasu na | You have fallen, yet That you are here, I will believe, O, cherry blossom! That spring is past— Don’t tell me that! |
12
‘The Left’s poem is my own—it really should lose, shouldn’t it?’
KKS XII: 590
Teiji-in uta’awase 04
Left
いそのかみふるのやまべのさくらばなこぞみしはなのいろやのこれる
| isonokami furu no yamabe no sakurabana kozo mishi hana no iro ya nokoreru | In Isonokami At Furu, on the mountainside is Cherry blossom— The flowers I did see last year: Are their hues lingering on? |
Suekata[i]
7
Right
ほどもなくちりなむものをさくらばなここらひささもまたせつるかな
| hodo mo naku chirinamu mono o sakurabana kokora hisasa mo matasetsuru kana | Before a moment’s gone Seem to scatter The cherry blossoms, after Everyone forever Having made to wait! |
Ise
8
The Left only shows affection for the past year, and lacks a conception of the current one—a loss.
[i] Suekata 季方.The identity of this poet is unclear. Hagitani (1963, 174) suggests he could have been the son of any one of a number of nobles: Prince Koga 興我王 (dates unknown); Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 藤原敏行 (?-901/07); Fujiwara no Sugane 藤原菅根 (856-908); or the younger brother of Taira no Atsuyuki 平篤行 (?-910).
Teiji-in uta’awase 02
Left
さかざらむものならなくにさくらばなおもかげにのみまだきみゆらむ
| sakazaramu mono naranaku ni sakurabana nao mo kage ni nomi madaki miyuramu | Wishing not to bloom Will not remain The cherry blossom, but Even so their shape alone Swiftly, I would wish to see! |
Mitsune
3
Right
やまざくらさきぬるときはつねよりもみねのしらくもたちまさりけり
| yamazakura sakinuru toki wa tsune yori mo mine no shirakumo tachimasarikeri | When the mountain cherry Has bloomed, Earlier than usual Clouds of white around the peak Do rise spectacularly! |
Tsurayuki
4[i]
The Left uses ‘wish’[ii] twice; the Right places the mountain cherries at a distance—that make the round a tie.
[i] This poem is included in Gosenshū (I: 118), with the headnote, ‘A poem from Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] Uda is objecting to Mitsune’s double usage of the auxiliary verb -ramu in his judgement here.
MYS XIII: 3305
A question and response poem.
物不念 道行去毛 青山乎 振放見者 茵花 香未通女 桜花 盛未通女 汝乎曽母 吾丹依云 吾 毛曽 汝丹依云 荒山毛 人師依者 余所 留跡序云 汝心勤
物思はず 道行く行くも 青山を 振り放け見れば つつじ花 にほえ娘子 桜花 栄え娘子 汝れをぞも 我れに寄すといふ 我れをもぞ 汝れに寄すといふ 荒山も 人し寄すれば 寄そるとぞいふ 汝が心ゆめ
| mono’omowazu michi yukuyuku mo aoyama o furisakemireba tsutsujibana nioe otome sakurabana hae otome nare o somo ware ni yosu to iu ware o mo nare ni yosu to iu arayama mo hito shi yosureba yosuru to zo iu na ga kokoroyume | Unburdened by gloomy thoughts Along the path I went on and on, To the green-growing mountain, When in the distance I saw An azalea Fair bright maiden, A cherry blossom Glorious maiden: O, you, truly Give your heart to me; And I, too, Will give my heart to you; Upon the wild mountain Folk give their hearts To one another, so Never will I abandon you! |