Round Sixteen
Left
ひとたびもこひしとおもふに恋しきは心ぞそらにくだくべらなる
| hitotabi mo koishi to omou ni koishiki wa kokoro zo sora ni kudakuberanaru | Briefly Did I love you, I feel, then My fondness with My heart into the skies Was surely shattered. |
30
Right
人を思ふ心はわれにあらねばや身のまどふだにしられざるらん
| hito o omou kokoro wa ware ni araneba ya mi no madou dani shirazaruran | A loving Heart do I Have not? For Even confused feelings I do not seem to feel… |
31
Round Fifteen
Left
逢ふ事のかたきしなれば白波の立ちよる数はわれのみぞしる
| au koto no katakishi nareba shiranami no tachiyoru kazu wa ware nomi zo shiru | Meeting you is A distant cliff, so The whitecaps’ Numbers breaking there I alone do know. |
28
Right
佗びぬればしひてわすれんとおもへども心よわくも落つるなみだか
| wabinureba shiite wasuren to omoedomo kokoro yowaku mo otsuru namida ka | I suffer, so I’ll make myself forget, I think, yet Is it my fragile heart that Drips with tears? |
29
きてなれし袂は人に見せてましつらき涙の色のかはらば
| kitenareshi tamoto wa hito ni misetemashi tsuraki namida no iro no kawaraba | I was wont to wear These sleeves—to him I would display them: If heartless tears Should change their hues… |
Yurika, from the Hall of the Junior Consort
27
In reply.
忍草しのぶる程のよがれにはなにに心も袖もぬるらん
| shinobugusa shinoburu hodo no yogare ni wa nani ni kokoro mo sode mo nururan | A fond fern I do recall as My nightly visits cease, so Why is my heart and Sleeves, too, so drenched? |
The Assistant Lieutenant of the Middle Palace Guards, Left Division
28
なごのうみの浦べにおふる浜つづらたえまくるしき物をこそ思へ
| nago no umi no urabe ni ouru hamatsuzura taema kurushiki mono o koso omoe | At Nago, by the sea Upon the beach grows Chasteberry: At the breaks between, sad Indeed, are my thoughts. |
Minister of Justice [Minamoto no] Toshisane
13
浜つづらたへまたへまを歎かせてくるしと思ふわがこころぞは
| hamatsuzura taema taema o nagekasete kurushi to omou wa ga kokoro zo wa | Chasteberry: The many breaks between Do cause me grief, and Pain is the feeling that Fills my heart! |
Kai, from the Shijō Palace
14
The same Major Counsellor, writing vertically upon delicate scarlet paper.
年ふともいはで朽ちぬる埋木の下の心はふりぬ恋かな
| toshi futomo iwade kuchinuru umoregi no shita no kokoro wa furinu koi kana | The years pass by, yet Without a word, has rotted The drowned tree— Beneath it, my heart Has grown old with love! |
3
In reply
ふかからぬ水無瀬の川の埋木はしたの恋路は年ふりぬとも
| fukakaranu minase no kawa no umoregi wa shita no koiji wa toshi furinu tomo | There’s no depth to The River Minase, where Drowned trees lie— Beneath, the paths of love Have grown old in years, and yet… |
Chikuzen, Daughter of Prince Yasusuke
4
This match took place when, hearing that his courtiers were composing poetry, His Majesty ordered them to compose love poems to the ladies in attendance.
おもひあまりいかでもらさんおく山の岩かきこむる谷の下みづ
| omoi’amari ikade morasan okuyama no iwa kakikomuru tani no shitamizu | My passion’s full, so How should it o’erflow? Deep within the mountains Hemmed in by crags are The waters of the valley floor… |
Major Counsellor Kinzane
1
In reply
いかなれば音にのみきく山川の浅きにしもはこころよすらん
| ika nareba oto ni nomi kiku yamakawa no asaki ni shimo wa kokoro yosuran | For some reason, I simply hear the sound Of a mountain stream; Into the shallows, indeed, has Your heart been swept, it seems! |
[Nakako,] The Suō Handmaid
2
あきのよの月のひかりはきよけれどひとのこころのくまはてらさず[1]
| aki no yo no tsuki no hikari wa kiyokeredo hito no kokoro no kuma wa terasazu | On an autumn night The moon’s light is So clear, yet upon Her heart’s Depths it fails to shine. |
55
ゆふだすきかけてのみこそこひしけれあきとしなればひと
| yūdasuki kakete no koso koishikere aki to shi nareba hito | Cords of mulberry cloth Hung, are all the more Dear; When the autumn comes, She… |
56
The final words of this poem have not survived, so we need to use our imaginations to think of how it might have concluded.
なにしおはばしひてたのまむをみなへしひとのこころのあきはうくとも[1]
| na ni shi owaba shiite tanomamu ominaeshi hito no kokoro no aki wa uku tomo | If the name fits, then Strongly, would I ask you, Maidenflower: Though folk’s full hearts In autumn, be cruel… |
37
あきのよをひとりねたらむあまのがはふちせたどらずいざわたりなむ
| aki no yo o hitori netaramu ama no kawa fuchise tadorazu iza watarinamu | On an autumn night, I sleep alone, it seems, for To the River of Heaven’s Depths and shallows I will not make my way— However can I cross them? |
39
[1] Shinchokusenshū 242; also a minor variant occurs in Kokin rokujō (3368) なにしおはばしひてたのまんをみなへし花の心の秋はうくともna ni shi owaba / shiite tanomamu / ominaeshi / hana no kokoro no / aki wa uku tomo ‘If the name fits, then / Forcefully, would I trust you, / Maidenflower: / Though a flower’s heart / In autumn, be cruel…’ Tsurayuki.
時雨降る秋の山辺をゆくときは心にもあらぬ袖ぞひちける
| shigure furu aki no yamabe o yuku toki wa kokoro ni mo aranu sode zo hichikeru | Drizzle falls In autumn on the mountain meadows; And when I travel there Not my heart, but My sleeves are truly drenched. |
11
年ごとにいかなる露のおけばかも秋の山辺の色濃かるらむ
| toshi goto ni ikanaru tsuyu no okeba kamo aki no yamabe no iro kokaruramu | Every single year However many dewdrops May fall The autumn mountain meadows Turn to richer hues, it seems. |
12
音羽山秋としなれば唐錦かけたることも見ゆる紅葉か
| otowayama aki to shi nareba karanishiki kaketaru koto mo miyuru momiji ka | On Otowa Mountain When autumn comes Cathay brocade Is hung about – Seem so the scarlet leaves? |
5
女郎花何の心になけれども秋はさくべきこともゆゆしく
| ominaeshi nani no kokoro ni nakeredomo aki wa sakubeki koto mo yuyushiku | O, maidenflowers, Something within my heart Is lacking, yet That you must bloom in autumn Is a fine thing, indeed! |
6