In the spring of the year following the early death of Onomiya Palace Minister, the cherry blossoms bloomed profusely, and he composed on the topic of voicing one’s thoughts a little.
桜花にほふものから露けきはこのめも物を思ふなるべし
| sakuranbana niFoFu mono kara tuyukeki Fa kono me mo mono wo omoFunarubesi | Cherry blossoms Have such a glow, that Dewdrops fill My eyes as sadness Seems to fill my thoughts. |
Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu
Left
霞立つ春の山辺にさくら花あかず散るとやうぐひすの鳴く
| kasumi tatsu haru no yamabe ni sakurabana akazu chiru to ya uguisu no naku | Hazes rise from The springtime moutainside, where With cherry blossoms’ Scattering unsated, perhaps, The warbler sings. |
25[1]
Right
あまの原春はことにも見ゆるかな雲のたてるも色こかりけり
| ama no hara haru wa koto ni mo miyuru kana kumo no tateru mo iro kokarikeri | Upon the Plain of Heaven The spring is especially Revealed! The clouds stand tall in Vibrant hues. |
26
[1] Shinkokinshū II: 109/Shinsen man’yōshū 31
Left
鶯はむべもなくらん花ざくら咲くとみしまにうつろひにけり
| uguisu wa mube mo nakuran hanazakura saku to mishi ma ni utsuroinikeri | The bush warbler, Indeed, does seem to sing among The cherry blossoms, that In the moment that I saw them bloom Did quite fade away. |
9
Right
はる霞たなびく野辺のわか菜にもなりみてしかな人もつむやと
| harugasumi tanabiku nobe no wakana ni mo narimiteshi kana hito mo tsumu ya to | Spring haze Drifting through the fields over The new herbs I would become— For then she might pick me, perhaps… |
Okikaze
10[1]
[1] Kokinshū XIX: 1031
From the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
霞立つ春の山辺にさくら花あかず散るとやうぐひすの鳴く
| kasumi tatsu haru no yamabe ni sakurabana akazu chiru to ya uguisu no naku | Hazes rise from The springtime moutainside, where With cherry blossoms’ Scattering unsated, perhaps, The warbler sings. |
Anonymous
Round Two
Left
年のうちに春はきにけりひととせをこぞとやいはん今年とやいはん
| toshi no uchi ni haru wa kinikeri hito tose o kozo to ya iwan kotoshi to ya iwan | Within the year Spring has come once more, so A single year: Should I say ‘tis last year, or Should I say ‘tis this one? |
Ariwara no Motokata
3[1]
Right (Win)
みよしのの山べにさけるさくら花雪かとのみぞあやまたれける
| miyoshino no yamabe ni sakeru sakurabana yuki ka to nomi zo ayamatarekeru | In fair Yoshino In the mountains, the flowering Cherry blossoms: Simply for snow I did mistake them! |
Ki no Tomonori
4[2]
[1] Kokin rokujō I: 1
[2] Kokinshū I: 60
Spring
Left
春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ
| haru no tatsu kasumi no koromo ura mo naku toshi o hete koso hana no chirikere | Spring does sew A robe of haze Without an underlay, The year passes by in A scattering of blossom |
1
春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる
| haru no no no yuki ma o wakete itsushika to kimi ga tame to zo wakana tsumitsuru | Across the springtime meadows Do I forge between the snows, Eagerly, so eagerly, For you, my Lord, Have I gathered fresh herbs! |
2
春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを
| harugasumi kasumi kometaru yamazato wa kōri toku tomo kage wa mieji o | The haze of spring Blurs all around A mountain retreat, Even were the ice to melt I could see no sign of it! |
3
Right
梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する
| ume ga e ni ki’iru uguisu toshigoto ni hana no nioi o akanu koesuru | Upon the plum tree’s branches Has come to rest the warbler; Every single year, that Of the blossoms’ scent He cannot get his fill he sings. |
4
桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで
| sakurairo ni hana saku ame wa furinu tomo chishio zo somete utsurou na sode | Cherry-coloured Blossoms flower, as the rain Falls on, yet Dyed a thousand times Fade not, o, my sleeves! |
5
青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ
| aoyagi no ito harubaru to midori naru yukusue made mo omoi koso yare | The willow’s Branches dangle lengthily So green Right to the very end Will I fondly think of you. |
6