Topic unknown.
はかなくもこむよをかけて契るかなふたたびおなじ身ともならじを
Fakanaku mo komu yo wo kakete tigiru kana Futatabi onazi mi to mo narazi wo | How unreliable to vow that Throughout the world to come We will be linked! For once more within the selfsame Flesh we might not be… |
The Minister of the Right
When the Gokyōgoku Regent ordered her to produce a hundred poem sequence.
雲となり雨となりても身にそはばむなしき空をかたみとやみん
kumo to nari ame to narite mo mi ni sowaba munashiki sora o katami to ya min | Even should you become a cloud, and Then become raindrops Falling on my flesh, then Would the vacant skies I see as a keepsake, perhaps? |
Kojijū
When he was a gentleman-in-waiting[1] and had just started speaking to Masatada’s daughter.[2]
身にしみておもふ心のふかければつひに色にもいでぬべきかな
mi ni simite omoFu kokoro no Fukakereba tuFi ni iro ni mo idenubeki kana | Within my flesh The feelings of my heart Are buried deep, but At long last my passions Can be revealed! |
Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Atsutada
[1] Atsutada was made a gentleman-in-waiting (jijū 侍従) on the 12th day of the First Month, Engi 延喜23 [31.1.923], dating this poem to after that point.
[2] The identity of this woman is unknown.
Left
みよりまたおもひはことになつむしのなりてもまたもたのみけるかな
mi yori mata omoi wa koto ni natsumushi no narite mo mata mo tanomikeru kana | From my flesh, once more Passion’s flame, especially, into A firefly Has made me still— On that you can rely! |
19
Right
なつむしのわがたましひにみをかへてこころごころにこがれけるかな
natsumushi no wa ga tamashii ni mi o kaete kokoro gokoro ni kogarekeru kana | Into a firefly Soul has My flesh transformed— Every corner of my heart Is smouldering! |
20
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
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
おのおのがみをばおもへどなつむしのかかるおもひはえこそはなれね
ono ono ga mi oba omoedo natsumushi no kakaru omoi wa e koso hanarene | Each and every one Of their flesh remains aware, yet A firefly’s Passion burns such that He never can escape it. |
5
Right
こひによりみのうせしをばくゆれどもなほなつむしになをやたちなむ
koi ni yori mi no useshi oba kuyuredomo nao natsumushi ni na o ya tachinamu | For love Has my body failed, Burning within, yet Still, as a firefly Might I be known? |
6
Left (Tie)
あふことのきみにたえにしわがみよりいくらのなみだながれいでぬらむ
au koto no kimi ni taenishi wa ga mi yori ikura no namida nagare’idenuramu | My meetings with You, my lord, have ceased, and From my flesh What a torrent of tears Flow out! |
Ise
59
Right
きみこひのあまりにしかばしのぶれどひとのしるらんことのわびしさ
kimi koi no amari nishikaba shinoburedo hito no shiruran koto no wabishiki | Loving you Beyond all measure, I kept it secret, yet That folk seem to know Is a cause of heartache. |
Tsurayuki
60
On hearing His Highness, the Prince of the Right remark in irritation that the Left’s poem had appealed to His Majesty’s heart, His Majesty composed
ゆきかへりちどりなくなるはまゆふのこころへだてておもふものかは
yukikaeri chidori naku naru hamayū no kokoro hedatete omou mono ka wa | Going back and forth Plovers cry from The beach among the spider lilies Do their hearts distinguish Do you think? |
His Majesty
61
The End of Summer
Left
なくこゑはするものからに身はむなしあなおぼつかなうつせみのよや
naku koe wa suru mono kara ni mi wa munashi ana obotsukana utsusemi no yo ya | Their voices sing And yet Their flesh is empty— O, how strange is A cicada shell world! |
Tadamine
9
Right (Win)
ほととぎすをちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみのさみだれのこゑ
hototogisu ochikaeri nake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no koe | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: The song of a summer shower. |
Mitsune
10
Composed on the conception of love as a year passes when people were at the residence of the Regent and former Minister of the Left.
われがみはとがへるたかとなりにけりとしはふれどもこゐはわすれず
ware ga mi Fa togaFeru taka to narinikeri tosi Fa Furedomo kowi Fa wasurezu | My flesh as A hawk returning to its mews Has become; A year has passed, yet This love I will not forget. |
The Minister of the Left [Minamoto no Toshifusa]
Left
おもひつつひるはかくてもなぐさめつ夜こそ涙つきずながるる
omoitsutsu hiru wa kakute mo nagusametsu yoru koso namida tukizu nagaruru | Ever thinking of you My day is thus Consoled, but At night, indeed, my tears Never do run dry… |
178
Right
かぎりなく深きおもひを忍ぶれば身をころすにもおとらざりけり
kagirinaku fukaki omoi o shinobureba mi o korosu ni mo otorazarikeri | Endless Depths has the love That I conceal, so That it will kill my flesh Is no exaggeration. |
179
'Simply moving and elegant'