Bird cherry
ふかれくるかには桜ぞそひてくる春をおくれるにほひなるべし
| fukarekuru ka ni wa sakura zo soitekuru haru o okureru nioi narubeshi | Blown to me is The fragrance of cherry Overlayed upon Spring’s lingering Glow it must be! |
Tag Archives: cherry
Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 30
Round Thirty
Personal Grievances
Left (Tie)
としをへて梅も桜もさくものを我が身のはるにまちぞかねぬる
| toshi o hete ume mo sakura mo saku mono o wa ga mi no haru ni machi zo kanenuru | The years go by and The plum and cherry, too, Burst into bloom, yet For the springtime of my sorry self It is so hard to have waited! |
Kiyosuke
59
Right
数ならで年へぬる身は今さらに世をうしとだにおもはざりけり
| kazu narade toshi henuru mi wa ima sara ni yo o ushi to dani omowazarikeri | Innumerable are The years I’ve passed, but Right now, that The world is a cruel place, even I do not think. |
Shun’e
60
Both of these have no faults to point out, but also no superlative parts either.
Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 08
Round Eight
Left (Tie)
うき世をば又なににかはなぐさめん花にさきだついのちともがな
| ukiyo oba mata nani ni ka wa nagusamen hana ni sakidatsu inochi to mogana | In this cruel world Is there yet anything else To console me? Before the blossoms’ departure I would my life do the same… |
Court Lady Taifu
15
Right
桜さく春の山風みねこせば雪ふりつもる谷のほそみち
| sakura saku haru no yamakaze mine koseba yuki furitsumoru tani no hosomichi | When in cherry-blooming Spring, the mountain breezes Cross the peaks Snow falls and piles high Upon the narrow valley paths. |
Moromitsu
16
Both poems are smooth, and on that basis, I would say that the Right is superior, but it has an archaic element, while the Left lacks anything unusual about it, so this is a tie of quality.
SKKS I: 87
Composed as a spring poem, when he presented poems to the Poetry Office.
葛城やたかまの桜さきにけりたつたのおくにかかる白雲
| kazuragi ya takama no sakura sakinikeri tatsuta no oku ni kakaru shirakumo | In Kazuragi, On Takama peak the cherry Has bloomed! To the heart of Tatsuta Cling clouds of white…[1] |
Jakuren
[1] An allusive variation on KKS I: 59 and Wakan rōeishū II: 409/SKKS XI: 990.
KYS I: 57
Composed on blossom fallen on the water.
はなさそふあらしやみねをわたるらんさくらなみよるたにがはのみづ
| Fana sasoFu arasi ya mine wo wataruran sakuranami yoru tanigaFa no midu | Enticing the blossom Is it the storm wind upon the peak That passes o’er The cherry waves breaking In the waters of a valley stream? |
Lord Minamoto no Masakane
Teiji-in uta’awase 07
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’.
Sengohyakuban uta’awase 284
Sanboku kikashū I: 150
Sanboku kikashū I: 149
Summer 15
Left.
櫻色の袖もひとへにかはるまでうつりにけりな過る月日は
| sakura iro no sode mo hitoe ni kawaru made utsurinikeri na suguru tsukihi wa |
Cherry-coloured Sleeves for single-fold Garb are changed; All already faded, With the passing months and days… |
29
Right (Win)
ふみしだく安積の沼の夏草にかつみだれそふしのぶもぢずり
| fumishidaku asaka no numa no natsukusa ni katsumidare sou shinobu mojizuri |
Crushed beneath my feet At the marsh of Asaka In the summer grasses A confusion of irises Longingly imprint their pattern. |
30