Composed on the conception of summer love, when the Regent and Palace Minister held a poetry contest at his residence.
おもひあれば袖にほたるをつつみてもいはばや物をとふ人はなし
omoi areba sode ni hotaru o tsutsumite mo iwaba ya mono o tou hito wa nashi I am filled with passion’s fire, but Even should my sleeves fireflies Wrap up, ‘What do you ponder on?’— There’s no one to enquire of me…[1]
Monk Jakuren
Created with Soan .
[1] An allusive variation on Gosenshū IV: 209 ; and a poem which Kenshō cites in his judgement of the poems in Round 1310 of Sengohyakuban uta’awase 千五百番歌合 (‘Poetry Contest in 1500 Rounds’): あめふればのきのたま水つぶつぶといはばやものを心ゆくまで ame fureba / noki no tamamizu / tsubutsubu to / iwaba ya mono o / kokoro yuku made ‘The rain falls and / Jewelled droplets from my eaves / Drip one by one: / Should I ponder on that / Until my heart is eased?’
Left
おもひにはみをもかへつるなつむしのきえてもあふとたれかいひけむ
omoi ni wa mi o mo kaetsuru natsumushi no kiete mo au to tare ka iikemu Passion’s flame Has changed the flesh of The fireflies Even fading will we meet— Who is it might say that?
17
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Right
あひもみぬこひによりつつなつむしのもえこがるれどかひなかりけり
ai mo minu koi ni yoritsutsu natsumushi no moekogaruredo kai nakarikeri Meeting but not seeing: Ever trusting in such a love The fireflies Burn themselves to char, yet ‘Tis pointless, indeed.
18
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Left
かぎりなきおもひのほかになつむしのまどふをひとのうへとこそ見れ
kagiri naki omoi no hoka ni natsumushi no madou o hito no ue to koso mire Endlessly In sudden flames of passion are Fireflies Lost—upon Her do I see them!
15
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Right
ただひとつおもひをだにもなつむしのいのちをすててたのむなるかな
tada hitotsu omoi o dani mo natsumushi no inochi o sutete tanomu naru kana With but a single Passion’s flame, even A firefly Abandon’s his life— On that you can rely!
16
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Left
みをすてておもひにいれるなつむしのいまいくばくもあらじとぞおもふ
mi o sutete omoi ni ireru natsumushi no ima ikubaku mo araji to zo omou Abandoning all restraint I plunge into burning passion— Fireflies Now numberless As my thoughts.
9
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Right
としをへてこひにみなぐるなつむしのあふにはかへていかがなりにし
toshi o hete koi ni minaguru natsumushi no au ni wa kaete ikaga narinishi As the years go by, I am laid out by love— A firefly On meeting changes and What has it become?
10
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Left
おもひをばいかにしればかなつむしのもゆるなかにもいりまどふらん
omoi oba ika ni shireba ka natsumushi no moyuru naka ni mo irimadouran How, my fiery passion Will you recognise? With the fireflies’ Flames Does it seem to blend!
3
Created with Soan .
Right
こひすとてみはいたづらにならばなれわれなつむしになりやしなまし
koisu tote mi wa itazura ni naraba nare ware natsumushi ni nari ya shinamashi ‘I’ll fall in love!’ I say, and If that’s pointless, then So be it! I’d rather a firefly Become and meet my death!
4
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His Majesty, Former Emperor Yōzei, held a match on the topic of ‘Love and Summer Insects’.
Left (Tie)
いたづらにみはなるてへどなつむしのおもひはえこそはなれざりけれ
itazura ni mi hanarute hedo natsumushi no omoi wa e koso hanarezarikere Pointlessly Did I spend my days apart from you, yet As the fireflies, The burning of my passionate thoughts I could not leave behind!
1
Created with Soan .
Right
みをすててひとつおもひにこがれたるこころぞなつのむしにまされる
mi o sutete hitotsu omoi ni kogaretaru kokoro zo natsu no mushi ni masareru Abandoning all restraint, But one fiery passion Chars My heart—the fire Flies does it exceed!
2
Created with Soan .
Regretting the Day of the Rat
Left
むねのひををしもぬかねばみだれおつるなみだのたまにかつぞけちつる
mune no hi o o shimo nukaneba midare’otsuru namida no tama ni katsu zo kechitsuru The fire within my breast Will not thread upon a string, but My disorderly dripping Gemstone tears will Yet extinguish it.
Tsurayuki 23
Right (Win)
くらきよにともすほたるのむねのひををしも とけたるたまかとぞ見る
kuraki yo ni tomosu hotaru no mune no hi o o shimo toketaru tama ka zo zo miru On a night so dark, The kindled fireflies of The fire within my breast; Loosened from their string As scattered gemstones they appear.
Tadamine 24
A summer poem, from a hundred poem sequence.
百敷の玉のみぎりのみ川水まがふ蛍も光そへけり
momoshiki no tama no migiri no mikawamizu magau hotaru mo hikari soekeri A hundredfold the palace walls, Where jewels by the edges of Moat waters Tangle with the fireflies Trailing lights.
Teika
Fireflies
五月雨に草のいほりはくづれども蛍と成るぞうれしかりける
samidare ni kusa no iori wa kuzuredomo hotaru to naru zo ureshikarikeru In the early summer rain Grassy lodgings Wither away, yet That they turn to fireflies Brings me joy.
Ōe no Masafusa
あきのよにかりかもなきてわたるなる我が思ふ人のことづてやせる[1]
aki no yo ni kari kamo nakite watarunaru wa ga omou hito no kotozute ya seru On an autumn night Is that the geese a’crying As they pass by? There is one I love— Would you take a message to her?
43
おく露にくちゆくのべのくさのはやあきのほたるとなりわたるらむ[2]
oku tsuyu ni kuchiyuku nobe no kusa no ha ya aki no hotaru to nariwataruramu Dew falls on The rotting meadows, where The blades of grass with The tired autumn fireflies Do seem to sound…
44
[1] A minor variant of this poem is included in Gosenshū (VII: 356 ), where it is attributed to [Ki no] Tsurayuki.
[2] This poem is included in Fubokushō (5548), where it is attributed to [Mibu no] Tadamine.
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