Tag Archives: ito

Teiji-in uta’awase 10

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.’

Teiji-in uta’awase 01

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.

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 21

とこやまねふみわけてくしかはじとやおもふひてあきには

otokoyama
mine fumiwakete
naku shika wa
heji to ya omou
shiite aki ni wa
Upon Otoko Mountain’s
Peak treads
A belling stag:
I wonder, does he not wish
To have to endure the autumn?

41

ぐらやまねのもみぢばにをいとにてかおりけむるやしらずや

ogurayama
mine no momijiba
nani o ito ni
hete ka orikemu
shiru ya shirazu ya
On Ogura Mountain’s
Peak, the scarlet leaves
Somehow, as warp threads
Crossing, woven seem—
Who knows that? No one, I expect!

42

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 41

Left

我のみやあはれとおもはむきりぎりす鳴く夕かげのやまとなでしこ

ware nomi ya
aware to omowan
kirigirisu
naku yūkage no
yamato nadeshiko
Is it only I
Who loves it so?
Crickets
Chirping in the evening shadows
On the wild pinks.

Sosei

80[1]

Right

秋の野の草はいととはみえなくにおく白露の玉とつらなる

aki no no no
kusa wa ito to wa
mienaku ni
oku shiratsuyu no
tama to tsuranaru
In the autumn meadows
The grasses, threads
Do not appear to be, yet
The fallen silver dewdrop
Gems are strung upon them.

Tsurayuki
81


[1] Kokinshū IV: 244

Shiki koi sanshu uta’awase – Spring

Spring

Left

春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ

haru no tatsu
kasumi no koromo
ura mo naku
toshi o hete koso
hana no chirikere
Spring does sew
A robe of haze
Without an underlay,
The year passes by in
A scattering of blossom

1

春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる

haru no no no
yuki ma o wakete
itsushika to
kimi ga tame to zo
wakana tsumitsuru
Across the springtime meadows
Do I forge between the snows,
Eagerly, so eagerly,
For you, my Lord,
Have I gathered fresh herbs!

2

春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを

harugasumi
kasumi kometaru
yamazato wa
kōri toku tomo
kage wa mieji o
The haze of spring
Blurs all around
A mountain retreat,
Even were the ice to melt
I could see no sign of it!

3

Right

梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する

ume ga e ni
ki’iru uguisu
toshigoto ni
hana no nioi o
akanu koesuru
Upon the plum tree’s branches
Has come to rest the warbler;
Every single year, that
Of the blossoms’ scent
He cannot get his fill he sings.

4

桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで

sakurairo ni
hana saku ame wa
furinu tomo
chishio zo somete
utsurou na sode
Cherry-coloured
Blossoms flower, as the rain
Falls on, yet
Dyed a thousand times
Fade not, o, my sleeves!

5

青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ

aoyagi no
ito harubaru to
midori naru
yukusue made mo
omoi koso yare
The willow’s
Branches dangle lengthily
So green
Right to the very end
Will I fondly think of you.

6