内日左須 宮道尓相之 人妻姤 玉緒之 念乱而 宿夜四曽多寸
うちひさす みやぢにあひし ひとづまゆゑに たまのをの おもひみだれて ぬるよしぞおほき
| utipi sasu miyadi ni apisi pitoduma yuwe ni tama no wo no omopimidarete nuru yosi zo opoki | Bright sun shines on The avenues of the capital where I met Another’s wife, who My jewelled thread of life Cast into tangled passion– So many the nights we slept together! |
[One of] five poems from an ancient collection.
Jewelled thread of life.
したにのみおもへばくるし玉のをのたえてみだれん人なとがめそ
| shita ni nomi omoeba kurushi tama no o no taete midaren hito na togame so | Simply beneath the surface Lies my passion, so ‘tis painful— My jewelled thread of life Might snap in tangles and Let no one blame me for it![i] |
Tomonori
[i] A minor variant of this poem, which replaces omeba (feel [passion, so’] with koureba (‘feel love, so’) occurs in Kokinshū (XIII: 677).
Left.
君が世にあはずは何を玉の緒のながくとまではおしまれじ身を
| kimi ga yo ni awazu wa nani o tama no o no nagaku to made wa oshimareji mi o |
My Lord’s reign: ‘Without it, why should, My jewelled thread of life Be lengthened more?’ Even for such a thought Have I no regrets. |
187
Right (Win).
思ふことむなしき夢の半天にたゆともたゆなつらき玉の緒
| omou koto munashiki yume no nakazora ni tayutomo tayuna tsuraki tama no o |
All my thoughts are just an Empty dream within The hollow heavens: Though it endures, let it not! My jewelled thread of life… |
188
Left (Tie).
たれもこのあはれみじかき玉の緒に亂れてものを思はずもがな
| tare mo kono aware mijikaki tama no o ni midarete mono o omowazu mogana |
There’s none who this Pitifully short Jewelled thread of life A tangle could Not think! |
125
Right (Tie).
いかゞせむありしわかれを限にて此世ながらの心かはらば
| ikaga semu arishi wakare o kagiri nite kono yo nagara no kokoro kawaraba |
What is to be done? That past parting was Our end, yet Here within this world, Should our hearts change… |
126