Major Captain of the Left Asamitsu had not visited her for a long time, when he came to see her on her travels; having no pillow, they wove one out of grass.
あふことはこれやかぎりの旅ならん草のまくらも霜がれにけり
| au koto wa kore ya kagiri no tabi naran kusa no makura mo shimogarenikeri | Will our meeting Here be the limit of Our journey? Even our grassy pillow Seared by distant frosts… |
The Uma Handmaid
Topic unknown.
花すすき草のたもとをかりぞなくなみだの露やおき所なき
| hanasusuki kusa no tamoto o kari zo naku namida no tsuyu ya okidokoro naki | The flowering miscanthus Grass cuffs Reaped and wept Tears of dew Have no place to fall.[i] |
Consultant Masatsune
[i] An allusive variation on KKS IV: 243.
Composed as a love poem, when he held a poetry match at his residence, when he was a Middle Captain.
わが恋はあまのかるもにみだれつつかわく間もなきなみのした草
| wa ga koFi Fa ama no karu mo ni midaretutu kawaku ma mo naki nami no sitagusa | My love is as The seaweed reaped by fisherfolk: Ever confused, and Dry for not a moment— A grass growing ‘neath the waves. |
Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Toshitada
Left
草村の心しとともにぞわたるくれはしぬべき秋のをしさに
| kusamura no kokoro shi to tomo ni zo wataru kure wa shinubeki aki no oshisa ni | A tangled patch of grass is My heart—together Will it cross, and with The evening pass away Amid autumn regrets…[i] |
23
Right (Win)
こりずまにあひもみるかな女郎花とまらずかへる秋としるらし
| korizu ma ni ai mo miru kana ominaeshi tomarazu kaeru aki to shirurashi | While I do not dislike her, I will come to meet and see, My maidenflower! Not lingering, and returning Having had enough—as autumn seems to do, I know… |
24
[i] The central part of this poem appears to have been corrupted as the division kokoro shi to tomo / ni zo wataru is anomalous as it places the bound morphemes ni zo at the beginning of a line. Given this, my translation is speculative.
Topic unknown.
木にもあらず草にもあらぬ竹のよのはしにわが身はなりぬべらなり
| ki ni mo arazu kusa ni mo aranu take no yo no hasi ni wa ga mi Fa narinuberanari | ’Tis not a tree, Nor yet a grass, but On bamboo stalks Brief as the space between the joints Does seem to be my fate… |
Anonymous
A certain person states that this is a poem by Prince Takatsu.
Left
草も木も枯行く冬の宿なれば雪ならずしてとふ人ぞなき
| kusa mo ki mo kareyuku fuyu no yado nareba yuki narazushite tou hito zo naki | Both grass and trees Wither away with winter At my home, so Even without the snow No one comes to call. |
135
Right
ふる雪はえだにしばしもとまらなむ花も紅葉も絶えてなきまは
| furu yuki wa eda ni shibashi mo tomaranamu hana mo momiji mo taete naki ma wa | The falling snow Upon the branches for a while Does rest, when Neither blossoms nor scarlet leaves Are there at all… |
136
Left
草しげみ下葉かれ行く夏の日もわくとしわけば袖やひちなん
| kusa shigemi shitaba kareyuku natsu no hi mo waku to shi wakeba sode ya hichinan | The grass is thick, with Underleaves withering In the summer sun, but When I try to forge on through, Will my sleeves seem soaked? |
53
Right
五月雨に物思ひをればほととぎす夜ぶかく鳴きていづち行くらん
| samidare ni mono’omoi oreba hototogisu yo fukaku nakite izuchi yukuramu | When in the drizzling rain, I’m sunk in gloomy thoughts, A cuckoo Sings in night’s depths: And where might it be going? |
Tomonori
54[1]
[1] Kokinshū III: 153/Shinsen man’yōshū 47/Kokin rokujō VI: 4441
Left
かりそめのみやたのまれぬ夏の日をなど空蝉のなきくらしつる
| karisome no mi ya tanomarenu natsu no hi o nado utsusemi no nakikurashitsuru | Is my transient Flesh untrustworthy? On a summer day Why does the cicada, an empty shell, Cry the day away? |
47[1]
Right
はかもなき夏のくさ葉におく露を命とたのむ虫のはかなさ
| haka mo naki natsu no kusaba ni oku tsuyu o inochi to tanomu mushi no hakanasa | Fleetingly Upon the blades of summer grass Falls the dew— A lifetime, I expect, for The short-lived insects. |
48
[1] A minor variant of this poem, with a headnote associating it with this contest, occurs in Shokugosenshū (XVI: 1058): かりそめの世やたのまれぬ夏の日をなどうつせみのなきくらしつる karisome no / yo ya tanomarenu / natsu no hi o / nado utsusemi no / nakikurashitsuru ‘Is this transient / World untrustworthy? / On a summer day / Why does the cicada, an empty shell, / Cry the day away?’