Left
草も木も枯行く冬の宿なれば雪ならずしてとふ人ぞなき
| kusa mo ki mo kareyuku fuyu no yado nareba yuki narazushite tou hito zo naki | Both grass and trees Wither away with winter At my home, so Even without the snow No one comes to call. |
135
Right
ふる雪はえだにしばしもとまらなむ花も紅葉も絶えてなきまは
| furu yuki wa eda ni shibashi mo tomaranamu hana mo momiji mo taete naki ma wa | The falling snow Upon the branches for a while Does rest, when Neither blossoms nor scarlet leaves Are there at all… |
136
Left
白露の染めいだす萩の下紅葉衣にうつすあきは来にけり
| shiratsuyu no some’idasu hagi no shita momiji koromo ni utsusu aki wa kinikeri | Silver dewdrops Lay dye upon the bush clover’s Scarlet underleaves: Reflected in its garb, Autumn has come! |
102
Right
風寒み啼く秋虫のなみだこそ草に色どる露とおくらめ
| kaze samumi naku akimushi no namida koso kusa ni irodoru tsuyu to okurame | The wind is chill, with The crying autumn insects’ Tears; Bringing colour to the grasses, The dew seems to fall… |
103
Left
雁のねは風にきほひてわたれどもわが待つ人のことづてぞなき
| kari no ne wa kaze ni kioite wataredomo wa ga matsu hito no kotozute zo naki | The goose cries Competing with the wind Come across, yet From the man I’m waiting for There is no word at all… |
92
Right
大空をとりかへすとも見えなくにほしかとみゆる秋の草かな
| ōzora o torikaesu tomo mienaku ni hoshi ka to miyuru aki no kusa kana | The heavens Claimed back, they Do not appear to be, yet Somehow, they seem like stars: These autumn grasses! |
93
Left
白露に風のふきしく秋の野はつらぬきとめぬ玉ぞちりける
| shiratsuyu ni kaze no fukishiku aki no no wa tsuranukitomenu tama zo chirikeru | Silver dewdrops are Blown by the wind Across the autumn meadows; No longer threaded, The jewels are scattered. |
90
Right
いつのまに秋穂たるらむ草と見しほどいくかともへだたらなくに
| itsu no ma ni akiho taruramu kusa to mishi hodo ikuka to mo hedataranaku ni | In an instant The autumn ears seem to droop down; Though as grasses they looked With no more than a few short days Standing in between… |
91
Left
あきの野の草のたもとか花薄ほに出でてまねく袖とみゆらん
| aki no no no kusa no tamoto ka hanasusuki ho ni idete maneku sode to miyuran | In the autumn meadows Are the grasses cuffs Fronds of silver grass? The emerging ears beckoning Sleeves do appear to be, I feel. |
Ariwara no Muneyana
86
Right
山の井は水なきごとぞみえわたる秋の紅葉のちりてかくせば
| yama no i wa mizu naki goto zo miewataru aki no momiji no chirite kakuseba | The mountain wells Lack water, every one: for Gazing across With autumn scarlet scattered Leaves they are concealed… |
Okikaze
87
Left
我のみやあはれとおもはむきりぎりす鳴く夕かげのやまとなでしこ
| ware nomi ya aware to omowan kirigirisu naku yūkage no yamato nadeshiko | Is it only I Who loves it so? Crickets Chirping in the evening shadows On the wild pinks. |
Sosei
80[1]
Right
秋の野の草はいととはみえなくにおく白露の玉とつらなる
| aki no no no kusa wa ito to wa mienaku ni oku shiratsuyu no tama to tsuranaru | In the autumn meadows The grasses, threads Do not appear to be, yet The fallen silver dewdrop Gems are strung upon them. |
Tsurayuki
81
[1] Kokinshū IV: 244
Left
草しげみ下葉かれ行く夏の日もわくとしわけば袖やひちなん
| kusa shigemi shitaba kareyuku natsu no hi mo waku to shi wakeba sode ya hichinan | The grass is thick, with Underleaves withering In the summer sun, but When I try to forge on through, Will my sleeves seem soaked? |
53
Right
五月雨に物思ひをればほととぎす夜ぶかく鳴きていづち行くらん
| samidare ni mono’omoi oreba hototogisu yo fukaku nakite izuchi yukuramu | When in the drizzling rain, I’m sunk in gloomy thoughts, A cuckoo Sings in night’s depths: And where might it be going? |
Tomonori
54[1]
[1] Kokinshū III: 153/Shinsen man’yōshū 47/Kokin rokujō VI: 4441
Composed on the conception of the beginning of winter.
草の葉もはや霜がれの色みえて外山かたかけ冬はきにけり
| kusa no ha mo haya shimogare no iro miete toyama katakake fuyu wa kinikeri | The blades of grass, Swiftly, their frost burned Hues do show All o’er the distant mountains Has the winter come. |
The Lay Priest and Former Regent and Minister of Left
Summer
Left
夏くればかみにあふひの草つみてかざしにいのるひとにばかりぞ
| natsu kureba kami ni aoi no kusa tsumite kazashi ni inoru hito ni bakari zo | When the summer comes For the God, hollyhocks Are plucked, and for a Prayer placed in the hair of All folk, every one! |
7
夏草も茂りにければ駿河なる田子のうらなへ今やひくらん
| natsu kusa mo shigerinikereba suruga naru tago no ura nae ima ya hikuran | The summer grasses, too, Have grown lush, so As Suruga’s Tago Bay, Do they now extend their charm? |
8
夏虫のやどるにまつは色ならで春秋空にうつろひやする
| natsumushi no yadoru ni matsu wa iro narade haru aki sora ni utsuroi ya suru | The summer insects Lodge upon the pines Unchanging hues; Is it the spring and autumn skies Which fade away? |
9
Right
卯花の咲く夏の夜はやみなれどかきねにやどる月かとぞみる
| u no hana no saku natsu no yo wa yami naredo kakine ni yadoru tsuki ka to zo miru | The deutzia flowers Bloom upon a summer night ‘Tis dark, yet Lodged upon my brushwood fence I wonder if I see the moon? |
10
五月きぬことかたらはむほととぎす君にあふちの花も咲きけり
| satsuki kinu koto katarawamu hototogisu kimi ni auchi no hana mo sakikeri | That the Fifth Month has come Is announced by The cuckoo: For you, the chinaberry Blossoms, too, have bloomed. |
11
空蝉のからにはあらで置く露の身をあらたむる心なるべし
| utsusemi no kara ni wa arade oku tsuyu no mi o aratamuru kokoro narubeshi | A cicada’s shed Shell I am not, for The dripping dew Does refresh my flesh, or So my heart seems to feel. |
12
あきのよにかりかもなきてわたるなる我が思ふ人のことづてやせる[1]
| aki no yo ni kari kamo nakite watarunaru wa ga omou hito no kotozute ya seru | On an autumn night Is that the geese a’crying As they pass by? There is one I love— Would you take a message to her? |
43
おく露にくちゆくのべのくさのはやあきのほたるとなりわたるらむ[2]
| oku tsuyu ni kuchiyuku nobe no kusa no ha ya aki no hotaru to nariwataruramu | Dew falls on The rotting meadows, where The blades of grass with The tired autumn fireflies Do seem to sound… |
44
[1] A minor variant of this poem is included in Gosenshū (VII: 356), where it is attributed to [Ki no] Tsurayuki.
[2] This poem is included in Fubokushō (5548), where it is attributed to [Mibu no] Tadamine.