Tag Archives: grass

KKS XVIII: 959

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.

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 69

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

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 27

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

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 24

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?’

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.

GSS V: 257

Topic unknown.

あき風のふきくるよひはきりぎりす草のねごとにこゑみだれけり[1]

akikaze no
fukikuru yoi wa
kirigirisu
kusa no ne goto ni
koe midarekeri
The autumn wind
Comes gusting late at night, when
The crickets
From every single blade of grass
Let out confused cries.

Anonymous


[1] This poem appears in the ‘Poetry Contest held at Prince Koresada’s House’ (Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase (42).

Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase 21

あきのよにたれをまつとかひぐらしのゆふぐれごとになきまさるらん

aki no yo ni
tare o matsu to ka
higurashi no
yūgure goto ni
nakimasaruran
On an autumn night
Who is it that you await, I wonder?
The sundown cicadas
With each evening
Cry ever louder…

41

あき風のふきくるよひはきりぎりす草のねごとにこゑみだれけり[1]

akikaze no
fukikuru yoi wa
kirigirisu
kusa no ne goto ni
koe midarekeri
The autumn wind
Comes gusting late at night, when
The crickets
From every single blade of grass
Let out confused cries.

42


[1] This poem was included in Gosenshū (V: 257).