Taira no Sadafun had been conversing with a lady at the residence of Major Counsellor Kunitsune in great secrecy and matters had progressed to the point that they had vowed to be with each other to the end, when the lady was abruptly welcomed into the residence of the late Grand Minister, so he had no way at all of even exchanging letters with her; thus, when the lady’s five year old child was playing in the western wing of the minister’s mansion, Sadafun called her over and saying, ‘Show this to your mother,’ wrote this on her upper arm.
むかしせしわがかねごとのかなしきはいかにちぎりしなごりなるらん
mukasi sesi wa ga kanegoto no kanasiki Fa ika ni tigirisi nagorinaruran
Long ago did I promise, but Might the sadness Of how I did once vow Be my only keepsake?
au koto no kata no katami wa namidagawa koishi to omoeba mazu saki ni tatsu
Meeting her was Hard, so my only keepsake is A river of tears; When I recall my love for her, That is first to flow.
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[i] What Ise means here is that these poems had been prepared for the event, but were not formally recited and judged during the contest as it had to be truncated due to lack of time.
[1]Shinsen man’yōshū 1/Kokin rokujō I: 460/A minor variant of this poem also occurs in Shinkokinshū (I: 65), where it is attributed to Ise: 水のおもにあやおりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべてそむらん mizu no omo ni / aya orimidaru / harusame ya / yama no midori o / nabete somuran ‘Upon the water’s surface / A confusing pattern paints / The rain of spring— / Will it now the mountains / All dye with green, I wonder?’
