On willows in the rain.
あさみどりそめてかけたる青柳のいとに玉ぬく春雨ぞふる
| asamidori somete kaketaru aoyagi no ito ni tama nuku harusame zo furu | Pale green Dyed and hung Upon the green willow Threads—gemstones threaded By the fall of a spring shower. |
42
On willows in the rain.
青柳のいとよりつたふ白露を玉とみるまで春雨ぞふる
| aoyagi no ito yori tsutau shiratsuyu o tama to miru made harusame zo furu | The pale green willow Threads reveal Silver dewdrops— Made to resemble gemstones By the fall of a spring shower. |
41
Left (Win)
めにみえでかぜはふけどもあをやぎのなびくかたにぞはなはちりける
| me ni miede kaze wa fukedomo aoyagi no nabiku kata ni zo hana chirikeru | Unseen by my eyes The wind does blow, yet The green willow Bends toward The scattering blossom. |
Mitsune
25
Right
あしひきのやまぶきのはなさきにけりゐでのかはづはいまやなくらむ
| ashihiki no yamabuki no hana sakinikeri ide no kawazu wa ima ya nakuramu | Leg-wearying Mountain kerria flowers Have bloomed; In Ide will the frogs Now be a’singing? |
Okikaze
26[i]
‘The Right is old-fashioned,’ and so it lost.
[i] Despite Uda’s negative opinion of it, this poem is included in Shinkokinshū (II: 162), attributed to Okikaze, with the headnote, ‘A poem from the Poetry Contest held by Former Emperor Uda in Engi 13’.
Left (Tie)
ふるさとにかすみとびわけゆくかりはたびのそらにやはるをすぐらむ
| furusato ni kasumi tobiwake yuku kari wa tabi no sora ni ya haru o suguramu | Above an ancient estate Flying through the parting haze Go the geese: In the skies they journey through, I wonder, will they pass the springtime? |
Mitsune
19
Right
ちるはなをぬきしとめねばあをやぎのいとはよるともかひやなからむ
| chiru hana o nukishi tomeneba aoyagi no ito wa yoru tomo kai ya nakaramu | The scattered blossom Has been pierced, but not stayed, so, The green willow’s Threaded fronds are spun together, yet It useless seems… |
20
‘“Sewn but not halted”—it really does seem so.’
Spring
Ten Poems on the Second Month
Left
あをやぎのえだにかかれるはるさめはいともてぬけるたまかとぞみる
| aoyagi no eda ni kakareru harusame wa ito mo te nukeru tama ka to zo miru | Upon the green willow Branches hang Spring raindrops— As if each frond were hand-threaded With gems do they appear. |
Ise
1
Right
あさみどりそめてみだれるあをやぎのいとをばはるのかぜやよるらむ
| asamidori somete midareru aoyagi no ito oba haru no kaze ya yoruramu | Pale green Dyes the tangled Willow Fronds—do spring’s Breeze they seem to beckon? |
Korenori
2
I’d say both of these are good—a tie.