On ‘fireflies confused in flight—autumn’s already near’.
かきつばたおふるさはべに飛ぶほたる数こそまされ秋やちかけん
kakitsubata ouru sawabe ni tobu hotaru kazu koso masare aki ya chikaken Irises Grow by the marsh where Fireflies soar— So many, indeed, their number that Might autumn be approaching?
Composed on the conception of summer love, when the Regent and Palace Minister held a poetry contest at his residence.
おもひあれば袖にほたるをつつみてもいはばや物をとふ人はなし
omoi areba sode ni hotaru o tsutsumite mo iwaba ya mono o tou hito wa nashi I am filled with passion’s fire, but Even should my sleeves fireflies Wrap up, ‘What do you ponder on?’— There’s no one to enquire of me…[1]
Monk Jakuren
Created with Soan .
[1] An allusive variation on Gosenshū IV: 209 ; and a poem which Kenshō cites in his judgement of the poems in Round 1310 of Sengohyakuban uta’awase 千五百番歌合 (‘Poetry Contest in 1500 Rounds’): あめふればのきのたま水つぶつぶといはばやものを心ゆくまで ame fureba / noki no tamamizu / tsubutsubu to / iwaba ya mono o / kokoro yuku made ‘The rain falls and / Jewelled droplets from my eaves / Drip one by one: / Should I ponder on that / Until my heart is eased?’
Regretting the Day of the Rat
Left
むねのひををしもぬかねばみだれおつるなみだのたまにかつぞけちつる
mune no hi o o shimo nukaneba midare’otsuru namida no tama ni katsu zo kechitsuru The fire within my breast Will not thread upon a string, but My disorderly dripping Gemstone tears will Yet extinguish it.
Tsurayuki 23
Right (Win)
くらきよにともすほたるのむねのひををしも とけたるたまかとぞ見る
kuraki yo ni tomosu hotaru no mune no hi o o shimo toketaru tama ka zo zo miru On a night so dark, The kindled fireflies of The fire within my breast; Loosened from their string As scattered gemstones they appear.
Tadamine 24
A summer poem, from a hundred poem sequence.
百敷の玉のみぎりのみ川水まがふ蛍も光そへけり
momoshiki no tama no migiri no mikawamizu magau hotaru mo hikari soekeri A hundredfold the palace walls, Where jewels by the edges of Moat waters Tangle with the fireflies Trailing lights.
Teika
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
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.
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
草深く荒たる宿の灯火の風にきえぬは蛍なりけり
kusa Fukaku
aretaru yado no
tomosibi no
kaze ni kienu Fa
Fotaru narikeri
Deep within the grasses
A ruined house has
Torches
Not guttering in the breeze:
Fireflies.
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…
A Servant Girl .
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…
Jakuren .
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.’
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
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
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