Bamboo
Left
つゆもおけとなびくものからたけのはのいろうつろへるあきもみぬかな
tsuyu mo oke to nabiku mono kara take no ha no iro utsuroeru aki mo minu kana ‘Fall, O, dewdrops!’, I say, then Weighed down The bamboo leaves’ Hues fading I’ll see not this autumn!
18
Asters
Right
あきののにいろなきつゆはおきしかどわかむらさきに花はそみけり
aki no no ni iro naki tsuyu wa okishikado wakamurasaki ni hana wa somikeri Upon the autumn meadows Colourless dew Has fallen, yet With pale violet Have the blooms been dyed.
18
Kerria
Left
はなをらでわれぞややまふきのはな るつゆをたまにてけたじとおもへば
hana orade ware zo ya yamau ki no ha na ru tsuyu o tama nite ketaji to omoeba Leave the blossom unplucked, and As it is, I will, that From the tree’s leaves The dewdrop gems Will not disappear, or so I wish…
Sadafun
13
Right (Win)
いづこともわかずはるさめふりやまふきのはな べてももえにけるかな
izuko to mo wakazu harusame furiyamau ki no ha na bete mo moenikeru kana Everywhere Without exception, springtime showers Have ceased to fall, so All the leaves upon the trees Have budded!
14
On seeing autumn leaves being scattered about during a shower.
おほぞらに木ずゑや心あはすらんしぐれとともにこのはふりしく
ōzora ni kozue ya kokoro awasuran shigure to tomo ni ko no ha furishiku In the broad skies above Is it the treetops or my heart That seems to be revealed? Mixed in with the showers The leaves are blowing about.
When a man who had come to see her around the Eighth Month left behind his fan, which was decorated with a picture of bamboo leaves spotted with dewdrops, after some time had passed, she returned it, with this.
しののめにおきてわかれし人よりはひさしくとまる竹の葉の露
shinonome ni okite wakareshi hito yori wa hisashiku tomaru take no ha no tsuyu At the break of dawn He rose and left— That man, but Much longer lingered Dewdrops on the bamboo leaves.
Izumi Shikibu
Left
しらつゆのおけるあしたのをみなへしはなにもはにもたまぞかかれる
shiratsuyu no okeru ashita no ominaeshi hana ni mo ha ni mo tama zo kakareru Silver dewdrops Fallen in the morning on A maidenflower: Both bloom and leaves Are all hung with pearls.
7[1]
Right
をみなへしたてるのざとをうちすぎてうらみむつゆにぬれやん
ominaeshi tateru nozato o uchisugite uramimu tsuyu ni nure ya wataran A maidenflower Stands at a house upon the plains As I pass by; Is it her resentful dew That has drenched me on my way?
8
[1] Gyokuyōshū 526; Shinsen man’yōshū 606; Kokin rokujō 3687
[One of] Two poems composed at the South Shrine in Minu in spring – sakaki .
をとめごがとるかみがきのさか木葉とやとせつばきはいづれ久しき
otomego ga toru kamigaki no sakakiba to yatose tsubaki wa izure hisashiki Maidens Take from the sacred fence Leaves of sakaki and Many-years camellia: Which is older, I wonder?
Nōin
When she presented a hundred poem sequence.
まどちかき竹のはすさぶ風のおとにいとどみじかきうたたねの夢
mado chikaki take no ha susabu kaze no oto ni itodo mijikaki utatane no yume Close by my window The bamboo leaves rustle cheerily In the wind— How very brief Is a dream when dozing.
Princess Shokushi
Left
雪のみぞ枝にふりしき花もはもいにけむ方もみえずも有るかな
yuki nomi zo eda ni furishiki hana mo ha mo inikemu kata mo miezu mo aru kana The snow is simply Fallen, scattered, on the branches; The blossom and the leaves, too: Where might they have gone? I cannot see!
133
Right
白雪の八重ふりしける帰る山かへるがへるも老いにけるかな
shirayuki no yae furishikeru kaeru yama kaerugaeru mo oinikeru kana White snow Falls eightfold on Mount Return— Returning and returning again Is the age I feel!
Ariwara no Muneyana 134[1]
[1] Kokinshū XVII: 902/Shinsen man’yōshū 169/Kokin rokujō II: 1393
Left
篠のはにおく霜よりもひとりぬる我が衣手ぞさえまさりける
sasa no ha ni oku simo yori mo hitori nuru wa ga koromode zo saemasarikeru On bamboo grass leaves Settles frost, but Sleeping alone, My sleeves Are colder still by far.
Tomonori 121[1]
Right
流れ行く水こほりぬる冬さへや猶うき草の跡はさだめぬ
nagareyuku mizu kōrinuru fuyu sae ya nao ukikusa no ato wa sadamenu The flowing Waters have frozen With the winter, even Still the waterweed Has left no clear trace at all.
122
[1] Kokinshū XII: 563/Shinsen man’yōshū 159/Kokin rokujō I: 668
Left
秋のせみさむき声にぞきこゆなる木のはの衣を風やぬぎつる
aki no semi samuki koe ni zo kikoyunaru ko no ha no kinu o kaze ya nugitsuru In the autumn, the cicadas’ Chill song I hear; Has the trees’ garb of leaves Been stripped from them by the wind?
112[1]
Right
あきの夜の月の影こそ木の間よりおちてはきぬとみえわたりけれ
aki no yo no tsuki no kage koso ko no ma yori ochite wa kinu to miewatarikere On an autumn night The moon’s light, truly, From between the treesDoes come a’falling Everywhere, it seems.
113
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 109/Fubokushō XIII: 5422
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