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
Tag Archives: fireflies
Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase 22
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.
Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase 2
はまちどりあきとしなればあさぎりにかたまどはしてなかぬ日ぞなき
| hamachidori aki to shinareba asagiri ni kata madowashite nakanu hi zo naki | The plovers on the beach: When the autumn comes, In the morning mists Do lose their way; No day dawns without their cries… |
3
あきくればみやまざとこそわびしけれよるはほたるをともしびにして[1]
| aki kureba miyamazato koso wabishikere yoru wa hotaru o tomoshibi ni shite | When the autumn comes My hut deep in the mountains Is lonelier by far; At night with fireflies For my lantern. |
4
[1] This poem also appears as Fubokushō 5545 where is it is listed as by Ōe no Chisato
Love VIII: 27
Left (Win)
蟲の音も秋を限りと恨むなりたえぬ思やたぐひなるらん
| mushi no ne mo aki o kagiri to uramu nari taenu omoi ya tagui naruran |
The insects’ cries do Mark the bounds of autumn With despair; Are endless thoughts of love To be my only fellow? |
Lord Kanemune
1073
Right
夏蟲もうら山しきは秋の夜の露にはもえぬ思ひなりけり
| natsumushi mo urayamashiki wa aki no yo no tsuyu ni wa moenu omoi narikeri |
The fireflies are A source of envy, On an autumn night When dewfall damps down The fires of my passion… |
Ietaka
1074
The Gentlemen of the Right: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘dewfall damps down’ (tsuyu ni wa moenu).
In judgement: the Left’s poem has been stated to be without fault by the gentlemen present. In the Right’s poem, I wonder if saying, ‘dewfall damps down’ is meaning nothing burns in autumn? On the matter of using the term ‘summer insects’ (natsumushi) to refer to fireflies, I do wonder whether it is appropriate to imply with one’s composition that there are no such insects in autumn. Although in the Collection of Poems to Sing Aloud, fireflies occur in the Summer section, among the same collection’s Chinese poems there is ‘in the dark before dawn innumerable fireflies start from the autumn grasses’. Furthermore, in Pan Anren’s ‘Rhapsody on Autumn Inspirations’ he says, ‘Glittering fireflies shine by the palace gate, and crickets sing from the eaves of the fence’. Even though there are countless cases of Autumn fireflies, how can one have composed suggesting that there are not? Thus, the Left wins.
Wakan rōeishū 190
Autumn I: 17
Left (Win).
はかなしや荒れたる宿のうたゝ寢に稲妻通ふ手枕の露
| hakanashi ya aretaru yado no utatane ni inazuma kayou tamakura no tsuyu |
How brief it was! In a ruined dwelling Dozing, when Lightning crossed The dewdrops on my pillowing arm… |
333
Right.
すだき來し澤の螢は影消てたえだえ宿る宵の稲妻
| sudakikoshi sawa no hotaru wa kage kiete taedae yadoru yoi no inazuma |
All together have The fireflies above the marsh Lost their light; Briefly remaining, Lightning at the dusk… |
334
The Right state that they have no criticisms of the Left’s poem. The Left wonder about the suitability of fireflies disappearing in the autumn.
Shunzei feels, ‘The Left’s poem is certainly charming in form and expression, but more thought should have been given to the initial phrase “How brief it was!” (hakanashi ya). The Right’s poem, too, is charming, and as for fireflies being a topic for summer poetry alone, in autumn it is acceptable to compose on the failing of their light, is it not? Did not Anjin compose “Fireflies flashing on the palace stairs and gates/Crickets crying from the eaves and tiles”? There is also the example from the Collection of Songs to Sing Aloud of “Seeking cuckoo calls in the dawntime clouds/Innumerable fireflies flit among the autumn grasses”. Still, the Left’s “dewdrops on my pillowing arm” wins, I think.’
Love 57
Left (Tie).
くるゝ夜は衛士のたく火をそれと見よ室の八嶋も都ならねば
| kururu yo wa eji no taku hi wo sore to miyo muro no yashima mo miyako naraneba |
In the dark of night, The conscripts kindled flames Behold as my love, for The waters of Muro no Yashima Lie not within the capital. |
113
Right (Tie).
蘆の屋に螢やまがふ海人やたく思ひも戀も夜はもえつゝ
| ashi no ya ni hotaru ya magau ama ya taku omoi mo koi mo yoru wa moetsutsu |
In a reed-roofed hut, One might mistake for fireflies, or Fisherfolk’s kindled fires The passion and the love, that Burns in me throughout the night. |
114