Tag Archives: kiri

Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 11

Original

もみぢばはきりのたつにもちりけるをかぜをかたなとおもひけるかな

momijiba wa
kiri no tatsu ni mo
chirikeru o
kaze o katana to
omoikeru kana
The scarlet leaves with
The rising mists
Do scatter—
The wind a sword
Truly does seem!

30

Left

もみぢばはあきのかぜこそさそひけれきりのなきなをたつぞあやしき

momijiba wa
aki no kaze koso
sasoikere
kiri no nakina o
tatsu zo ayashiki
The scarlet leaves
By the winds of autumn, truly,
Are invited;
That baseless rumours of the mists
Arise is strange, indeed!

31

Right

からにしきかぜのたつらんもみぢばはきりのたつにもおくれざりけり

karanishiki
kaze no tatsuran
momijiba wa
kiri no tatsu ni mo
okurezarikeri
Cathay brocade
The rising wind seeming to shear
Scarlet leaves,
Even the rising of the mists
Will not delay it.¯

32

Tsurayuki uta’awase 08

The Middle of Autumn

Left

大空の道みえぬまでふる霧は秋のなかばにとめむとかもし

ōzora no
michi mienu made
furu kiri wa
aki no nakaba ni
tomemu to kamo shi
Until all the endless sky
Ways unseen are
Descend the mists
In the heart of autumn—
Will they stay a while, I wonder?

15

Right

女郎花おほくの秋にあふものをからくもあだにおもひけるかな

ominaeshi
ōku no aki ni
au mono o
karaku mo ada ni
omoikeru kana
Maidenflowers
Many in autumn
Does one meet, but
Bitterly, faithless
Do I feel they are!

16

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 17

Left (Tie)

月さゆるつもりのうらのみづがきはふりしくゆきにいろもかはらず

tsuki sayuru
tsumori no ura no
mizukaki wa
furishiku yuki ni
iro wa kawarazu
The moon, so chill, shines
Upon the Bay of Tsumori,
Where the honored sacred grounds,
Spread with fallen snow
Remain unchanged in hue.

Taifu, in service to the Former Ise Virgin[i]
33

Right

あらしふくまつのこずゑにきりはれてかみもこころやすみのえの月

arashi fuku
matsu no kozue ni
kiri harete
kami mo kokoro ya
suminoe no tsuki
The storm wind blows
Across the treetops of the pines,
Clearing the mists away—
I wonder, is the Deity’s heart at
Suminoe beneath the moon?

Lord Fujiwara no Sadanaga
Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs
Exalted Fifth Rank, Lower Grade[ii]
34

The Left’s poem appears to be about chill fallen snow spread upon Tsumori Bay, so in saying that the waters bounding the sacred grounds cannot conceal the hue, it appears to be saying that the moon’s light is white, but I wonder if the diction is a bit insufficient to convey this? It seems to me that it simply says that although snow has fallen on the waters bounding the sacred grounds, their hue has not changed—doesn’t it? As for the Right’s poem, I can say that its conception and configuration are pleasant, but it begins with ‘the storm wind blows’ and one cannot say ‘storm wind’ along with ‘beach pines’. One can understand this based on the poem ‘Yes, the mountain wind / Is aptly named “Storm”‘. Still, the poem’s configuration does appear pleasant. Again, I make this a tie.


[i] Zen-saigū no Taifu 前斎宮大輔

[ii] Jūgoige-gyō nakatsukasa no shō Fujiwara ason Sadanaga 従五位下行中務少輔藤原朝臣定長