Tag Archives: koto no ha

Kinkai wakashū

Kinkai wakashū 687

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Among my miscellaneous poems

世にふればうきことの葉の数ごとにたえず涙の露ぞおきける

yo ni fureba
uki koto no ha no
kazu goto ni
taezu namida no
tsuyu zo okikeru		Living in this world,
My words of grief
Number the same as
My ceaseless tears,
Falling as dewdrops.[i]

687

[i] See: Topic unknown. よにふればうさこそまされみ吉野の岩のかけ道ふみならしてむ yo ni fureba / usa koso masare / miyoshino no / iwa no kakemichi / fuminarashitemu ‘Living in this world / Brings only an excess of grief; / Upon fair Yoshino’s / Steep and rocky trails / Would I set my feet.’ Anonymous (Kokinshū XVIII: 951)

Teiji'in uta'awase

Teiji-in uta’awase 33

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Left

つゆばかりたのみおかなんことのはにしばしもとまるいのちありやと

tsuyu bakari
tanomi okanan
koto no ha ni
shibashi mo tomaru
inochi ari ya to		Dewdrop fragile
Is my trust that dripping
On the leaves, your words
A little longer might hold
My life here, perhaps…

66

Right

はるさめのよにふるそらもおもほえずくもゐながらにひとこふるみは

harusame no
yo ni furu sora mo
omohoezu
kumoi nagara ni
hito kouru mi wa		Spring showers
Fall from night time skies—living on
Is not for me, I think, for
Beyond the clouds lies
The one I love…

67

Kokinshū

KKS XIV: 688

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A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.

思ふてふ事の葉のみや秋をへて色もかはらぬ物にはあるらん

omoFu teFu
koto no Fa nomi ya
aki wo Fete
iro mo kaFaranu
mono ni Fa aruran		My fond thoughts expressed
In words, and leaves, simply
On reaching autumn’s surfeit—
Won’t they change their hues?
No, that will never be.

Anonymous