The Beginning of Winter
Left (Tie)
しものうへにふるはつゆきのあさごほりとけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
| shimo no ue ni furu hatsuyuki no asagōri tokemu hodo koso hisashikarikeri | Upon the frost Falls first snow turning To ice with the morning; The time ‘twill take to melt Will be long, indeed. |
17
Right
かみなづきもみぢのいろはふくかぜとたにのみづとぞおとしはてつる
| kaminazuki momiji no iro wa fuku kaze to tani no mizu to zo otoshihatetsuru | In the Godless Month The scarlet leaves’ hue With the gusting wind, and The waters in the valley, do Drop completely. |
Mitsune
18
From the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
神無月しぐれふるらしさほ山のまさきのかづら色まさり行く
| kaminazuki shigure fururashi saoyama no masaki no kazura iro masarikeri | In the Godless Month Showers fall, it seems, for On Sao Mountain The evergreen arrowroot’s Hues are fine, indeed. |
Anonymous
Winter
Left
冬くれば紅葉ふりしく神無月佐保の山辺はむべもりぬらん
| fuyu kureba momiji furishiku kaminazuki saho no yamabe wa mube morinuran | When the winter comes, Scarlet leaves, falling and scattering In the Godless Month, Upon the slopes of Mount Saho, Indeed, are at their finest. |
19
冬ごもりかれてみゆらん梅がえは今はた花の春はにほはん
| fuyugomori karete miyuran ume ga e wa ima hata hana no haru wa niowan | Sealed in winter, and All withered seeming, The plum tree’s branches, Now, for sure, the blossoms’ Spring will scent. |
20
冬みれば水もまかせぬ小山田にいつすき返し種をまきけん
| fuyu mireba mizu mo makasenu oyamada ni itsu sukikaeshi tane o makiken | ‘Tis winter, I see, so There’s no water to draw for The little mountain paddies: O, when might I till them, and Sow my seeds, I wonder? |
21
Right
時雨降る宿にすまへば冬の夜に錦とみゆる木木の花かな
| shigure furu yado ni sumaeba fuyu no yo ni nishiki to miyuru kigi no hana kana | Showers fall Upon the house where I do dwell, so Upon a winter’s night As brocade do seem The blossoming trees! |
22
ゆふだすき神の社にかけつればしもし降るにもたのもしきかな
| yūdasuki kami no yashiro ni kaketsureba shimo shi furu ni mo tanomashiki kana | Sacred mulberry cords Around the God’s shrine Are hung, so Even amidst the frost fall, The future does seem bright! |
23
白雲のふたへふりしくときは山うらはへとしはみどりなりけれ
| shiragumo no futae furishiku tokiwa yama ura hae toshi wa midori narikere | Clouds of white Lie scattered, twofold, upon The unchanging mountain: Stretching out behind, the year Is simply green. |
24
During the Chōgan Era, when His Majesty enquired when the Man’yōshū was created, he composed this and presented it.
神無月時雨ふりをけるならの葉の名におふ宮の古ごとぞこれ
| kaminaduki sigure Furiwokeru nara no Fa no na ni oFu miya no Furugoto zo kore |
In the Godless Month Drizzle falls upon The leaves of Nara oak! The palace bearing that name Produced these ancient words! |
Fun’ya no Arisue
文屋有季
