Round Eight
Left
風さむみゆふかげ草にかくろへてはたおる虫の声聞ゆなり
kaze samumi yūkage kusa ni kakuroete hataorumushi no koe kikoyu nari Chill the wind
Chikafusa
Right
誰がためとあやめも見えぬ夕ざれにはたおる虫の声聞ゆらん
ta ga tame to ayame mo mienu yūzare ni hataorumushi no koe kikoyuran For whose sake
Lady Hȳoe
At present, ‘Amidst the gloam / Of eventide’ appears to have a bit more conception than ‘the evening grasses, from / Whence, concealed, / The crickets’.
Round Thirty-Seven
Left (Tie)
むば玉のよやふけぬらんさをしかの声すみのぼるをのの草ぶし
mubatama no yo ya fukenuran saoshika no koe suminoboru ono no kusabushi Might lily-seed dark
Takasuke
Right
秋のよはつまどふ鹿の深山出でていまだ旅なるをのの草ぶし
aki no yo wa tsumadou shika no miyama idete imada tabi naru ono no kusabushi On an autumn night,
Shimotsuke
Left and Right’s ‘lies among the meadow grasses’ have no merits or faults between them. A pleasant tie.
草のかう色変わりぬる白露は心おきても思ふべきかな
kusa no kō iro kawarinuru shiratsuyu wa kokoro okitemo omoubeki kana The grasses have such
1[i]
風寒み鳴くなる雁の声によりうたむ衣をまづやからまし
kaze samumi nakunaru kari no koe ni yori utamu koromo o mazu ya karamashi Chill will turn the wind as
2[ii]
[i] This poem is included in Kokin rokujō (VI: 3768), attributed to Ise, with the headnote ‘The scent of grasses’. It is also included in Ise-shū (88), with the headnote ‘The scent of grasses, in the Minister of Ceremonial’s Garden Match’.
[ii] This poem is included in Ise-shū (89), with the headnote ‘Gentian’ (rindō 竜胆).
おくやまの草ふみならすさをしかもふかき心のほどはしらなん
okuyama no kusa fuminarasu saoshika mo fukaki kokoro no hodo wa shiranan In the mountains’ heart
419
をしかふす夏のの草の露よりもしらじなしげき思ひありとは
oshika fusu natsuno no kusa no tsuyu yori mo shiraji na shigeki omoi ari to wa A stag lies
410
おのづからさびしくもあるか山ふかみ草のいほりの雪の夕ぐれ
onozukara sabishiku mo aru ka yama fukami kusa no iori no yuki no yūgure All by itself
375
Left – Bur Reed
あきのこむとしのををのみくりかへしかぞへてうゑん草のいろいろ
aki no komu toshi no o o nomi kuri kaeshi kazoete uemu kusa no iroiro Autumn will come
20
This poem is an acrostic, with ‘bur reed’ (mikuri ) contained in nomi kurikaeshi .
Right – Missing
Left – Incense grass
花のみはにほはざりけりゆきかへばくさのかうつるものにざりける
hana nomi wa niowazarikeri yukikaeba kusa no ka u tsuru mono ni zarikeru The flowers, alone,
6
Right
(Missing)
Left – Asters
もろともにくさはうゑしをにしぞまづ秋のけぢかきいろはみえける本のまま
morotomo ni kusa wa ueshi o n ishi zo mazu aki no kejikaki iro wa miekeru Together
5
Right
(Missing)
旅ごろもうらがなしさにあかしかね草の枕は夢もむすばず
tabigoromo uraganashisa ni akashikane kusa no makura wa yume mo musubazu In my traveller’s garb
Hikaru Genji
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'Simply moving and elegant'
