Poems composed for a folding screen for the Minister of the Right in Jōhei 7 [937]: Women gazing at the scarlet plum blossom they had picked beneath the trees.
雪とのみあやまたれつつ梅花くれなゐにさへかよひけるかな
yuki to nomi aya mataretsutsu mume no hana kurenai ni sae kayoikeru kana For the snow alone, O, have we ever waited, while The plum blossom Simply in scarlet Has scattered back and forth.
Topic unknown
しらせばや涙もいまは紅のうすはなざくら色に出でつつ
shiraseba ya namida mo ima wa kurenai no usu hanazakura iro ni idetsutsu Should I let you know? My tears, too, now, are Scarlet as The pale cherry blossoms Hues ever emerge.
Anonymous
Same as before.
ふりはへて折りに来たればこまにしきくれなゐふかき岡つつじかな
furihaete orinikitareba koma nishiki kurenai kaki okatsutsuji kana I exhaust myself When I come to pick Goryeo brocade Scarlet painted Azaleas on the hillside!
Sagami
よもぎふに露のおきしくあきのよはひとりぬるみもそでぞぬれける
yomogyū ni tsuyu no okishiku aki no yo wa hitori nuru mi mo sode zo nurekeru Upon the mugwort The dew falls, scattered On an autumn night; Sleeping alone, my Sleeves are drenched, indeed!
35
あしひきの山べによするしらなみはくれなゐふかくあきぞ見えける
ashihiki no yamabe ni yosuru shiranami wa kurenai fukaku aki zo miekeru Upon the leg-wearying Mountain meadows break The whitecaps; A deeper scarlet Does autumn reveal.
36
Scarlet lotus flowers floating on marsh water (緑沼紅蓮浮)
Left (Win)
みどりぬにうきたるはちすくれなゐにみづにごるなり波たつなゆめ
midorinu ni ukitaru hatisu kurenawi ni midu nigorunari nami tatu na yume Upon the green marsh Floats a lotus Its scarlet Stains the waters – O, rise not, you waves!
6
Right
紅のはちすうきたるみどりぬにしら波たてばこきまぜの花
kurenawi no Fatisu ukitaru midorinu ni siranami tateba kokimaze no Fana Scarlet, The lotus floats upon The green marsh, but When the whitecaps rise All jumbled will the flowers be…
7[1]
[1] These poems are included in Fubokushō (XXIV: 11386 ) and (XXIV: 11387 ).
Composed when deep in thought.
紅の八しほの衣朝な朝な馴れはすれどもいやめづらしも
kurenawi no yasipo no koromo asana asana nare pa suredomo iya medurasi mo In safflower Dipped many times, my robe Worn morn after morn Has familiar wrinkles, yet Is all the more dear for that…
Kurenai
Kurenai
Love Closely Nearby.
紅の裾引くほどの宿なれど色にいでなば人に知られじ
kurenawi no suso Fiku Fodo no yado naredo iro ni idenaba Fito ni shirarezi Her scarlet Hem could I tug upon, so close Do we dwell, yet If my passion’s hues were to show, I would folk did never know…
Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (1104-1177)
藤原清輔
紅はうつろふものぞ橡のなれにし来ぬになほしかめやも
kurenawi wa
uturopu mono zo
turubami no
narenisi konu ni
napo sikame ya mo
Scarlet is
A hue that fades!
Oak-dyed
Well-worn garb is
More appropriate, don’t you think?
The poems above were composed on the 5th day of the Fifth Month by the Governor, Ōtomo sukune Yakamochi.
Composed for the Poetry Competition held at the Residence of Middle Councillor Toshitada.
くれなゐの濃染の衣うへにきむこひのなみたの色かくるやと
kurenawi no
kosome no koromo
uFe ni kimu
koFi no namida no
iro kakuru ya to
In scarlet
Deeply dyed, a robe
Would I put on
That my tears of love’s
Hue be concealed!
Fujiwara no Akitsuna
藤原顕綱
A poem composed on the banks of the Ogami, in the district of Tonami.
雄神川紅にほふ娘子らし葦付[水松之類]取ると瀬に立たすらし
ogamigapa kurenawi nipopu wotome rasi asituki toru to se ni tatasurasi Upon the River Ogami Glowing safflower scarlet Do the maidens seem; Harvesting ashitsuki Standing in the shallows…
Ōtomo no Yakamochi 大伴家持
'Simply moving and elegant'