Tag Archives: inochi

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 26

Round Twenty-Six

Left

恋ひしなんいのちを誰にゆづりおきてつれなき人のはてをみせまし

koishinan
inochi o tare ni
yuzuri’okite
tsurenaki hito no
hate o misemashi
Likely dying of love,
My life, to whom should I
Consign?
That cruel girl’s
Ending—would that show it to her?

Shun’e

51

Right (Win)

つれもなき人はおもひもすてられでうき身のみこそなげまほしけれ

tsure mo naki
hito wa omoi mo
suterarede
ukimi no mi koso
nagemahoshikere
So cruel is
That girl, but my passion for her
I cannot abandon;
It is my pitiful self that
I would wish to throw away!

Kenshō

52

The Left isn’t bad, but it’s a bit cliched. As for the Right, having both ‘abandon’ and ‘throw away’ could be a fault and yet the conception of one ‘abandoning passion’ is different. Whichever way you look at it, it wins.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 08

Round Eight

Left (Tie)

うき世をば又なににかはなぐさめん花にさきだついのちともがな

ukiyo oba
mata nani ni ka wa
nagusamen
hana ni sakidatsu
inochi to mogana
In this cruel world
Is there yet anything else
To console me?
Before the blossoms’ departure
I would my life do the same…

Court Lady Taifu
15

Right

桜さく春の山風みねこせば雪ふりつもる谷のほそみち

sakura saku
haru no yamakaze
mine koseba
yuki furitsumoru
tani no hosomichi
When in cherry-blooming
Spring, the mountain breezes
Cross the peaks
Snow falls and piles high
Upon the narrow valley paths.

Moromitsu
16

Both poems are smooth, and on that basis, I would say that the Right is superior, but it has an archaic element, while the Left lacks anything unusual about it, so this is a tie of quality.

SZS II: 123

Composed on the last day of the Third Month.

いのちあらばまたもあひなむ春なれどしのびがたくてくらしつるかな

inochi araba
mata mo ainamu
haru naredo
shinobigatakute
kurashitsuru kana
If I live
I might once more meet with
The springtime, yet
How hard that is to recall
Amid the dark!

Minister of Central Affairs, Prince Tomohira

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

SZS XVI: 1026

I had asked that Master of Discipline Kōkaku be accorded the honour of the role of reader at the ceremony for the recitation of the Vimalakīrti nirdeśa Sutra, and when he was constantly passed over, had complained to the Hosshōji Lay Priest and former Palace Minister; even though he mentioned ‘Shimeji plain’, the following year Kōkaku was once more passed over, so I composed this and sent it to him.

契りおきしさせもが露をいのちにてあはれことしの秋もいぬめり

tigiri okisi
sasemo ga tuyu wo
inoti nite
aFare kotosi no
aki mo inumeri
A promise dropped, as
Dewfall on the mugwort—
Such is life, so
Miserable, this year’s
Autumn must arrive.

Fujiwara no Mototoshi

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

GSIS XII: 669

Sent on returning home from a woman’s residence.

君がためをしからざりしいのちさへながくもがなとおもひけるかな

kimi ga tame
wosikarazarisi
inoti saFe
nagaku mogana to
omoFikeru kana
For your sake, my love,
I would not have regretted
Even my life, but
O, to live long
With you in my passionate heart!

Minor Captain Fujiwara no Yoshitaka

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

SHSKS II: 94

On the last day of the Third Month.

いのちあらばまたもあひみむ春なれどしのびがたくてくらしつるかな

inochi araba
mata mo aimimu
haru naredo
shinobigatakute
kurashitsuru kana
If I live
I might once more encounter
The springtime, yet
How hard that is to recall
Amid the dark!

Minister of Central Affairs, Prince Tomohira

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

SKKS XIII: 1149

At about the time the Naka Chancellor began visiting her regularly.

わすれじの行末まではかたければけふをかぎりの命ともがな

wasureji no
yukusue made wa
katakereba
kyō o kagiri no
inochi to mogana
Never to be forgotten
In all the days to come is
Hard to believe, so
If only today was the limit
Of my life…

The Mother of Gidō Sanshi

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

SGSIS XVIII: 1240

Among poems composed with a character from the Tang poem ‘Looking at my life, ‘tis but a rootless grass upon the shore’ as its initial sound.[1]

つゆをのみくさばのうへとおもひしはときまつほどのいのちなりけり

tsuyu o nomi
kusaba no ue to
omoishi wa
toki matsu hodo no
inochi narikeri
Simply as a dewdrop,
Resting atop a blade of grass—
So I did think;
Such a short thing
Is life.

Izumi Shikibu

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

[1] The kanshi in question appears in Wakan rōeishū (II: 789): 観身岸額離根草 論命江頭不繋舟 ‘Thinking on my life, ‘tis but a rootless grass upon the shore; / Thinking on my fate, ‘tis as uncertain as an unmoored boat upon the bank.’  If read as Japanese, this poem would be: mi o kanzureba kishi no hitai ni ne o hanaretaru kusa / mei o ronzureba e no hotori ni tsunagazaru fune. Izumi Shikibu’s poem links with the initial tsu of tsunagazaru, beginning as it does with tsuyu ‘dew’.

Mandaishū XVIII: 3559

Among poems composed with a character from the Tang poem ‘Looking at my life, ‘tis but a rootless grass upon the shore’ as its initial sound.[1]

つゆを見てくさばのうへとおもひしはときまつほどのいのちなりけり

tsuyu o mite
kusaba no ue to
omoishi wa
toki matsu hodo no
inochi narikeri
As a dewdrop it appears
Resting atop a blade of grass—
So I did think;
Such a short thing
Is life.

Izumi Shikibu

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

[1] The kanshi in question appears in Wakan rōeishū (II: 789): 観身岸額離根草 論命江頭不繋舟 ‘Thinking on my life, ‘tis but a rootless grass upon the shore; / Thinking on my fate, ‘tis as uncertain as an unmoored boat upon the bank.’  If read as Japanese, this poem would be: mi o kanzureba kishi no hitai ni ne o hanaretaru kusa / mei o ronzureba e no hotori ni tsunagazaru fune. Izumi Shikibu’s poem links with the initial tsu of tsunagazaru, beginning as it does with tsuyu ‘dew’.