Left
秋のよのあまてる月の光にはおく白露を玉とこそ見れ
| aki no yo no ama teru tsuki no hikari ni wa oku shiratsuyu o tama to koso mire | On an autumn night The heaven-shining moon’s Light upon The fallen silver dewdrops Truly, makes them seem as jewels. |
98[1]
Right
あきののにおける露をばひとりぬる我が涙とも思ひしれかし
| aki no no ni okeru tsuyu oba hitori nuru wa ga namida to mo omoishire kashi | Upon the autumn fields Drop dewdrops; Sleeping alone, My tears— Think on them, why don’t you! |
99
[1] Shinchokusenshū V: 281/Shinsen man’yōshū 95
さらぬだになみだのかかる我袖をかくれぬらしぞ道芝の露
| saranu dani namida no kakaru wa ga sode o kakurenurashi zo michishiba no tsuyu | ‘Tis not that Tears hanging on My sleeves have Secretly drenched them—‘tis Dewdrops from the roadside grasses. |
The Minister of Justice
43
I don’t think this is particularly moving; the conjecture is brief, and the greater than normal pivot is lacking in realism.
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
君こふる涙の床にみちぬれば身をつくしとぞ我はなりぬる
| kimi koFuru namida no toko ni mitinureba mi wo tukusi to zo ware Fa narinuru | Loving you With tears my bed Has completely filled, so A channel buoy, exhausted, Have I become. |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
うきながら人もつらしとしりぬればことわりなくも落つる涙か
| ukinagara hito mo tsurashi to shirinureba kotowarinaku mo otsuru namida ka | ‘Tis cruel, but, that Folk are heartless, I know too well, so Does it make no sense for My tears to fall? |
Kai, from the Shijō Palace
35
かりそめのたえまを待つや恨むべきことわりなきは涙なりけり
| karisome no taema o matsu ya uramubeki kotowarinaki wa namida narikeri | A temporary Respite are you awaiting— Should you hate that? What makes no sense Are your tears… |
The Supernumerary Master of the Left Capital Office
36
Round Fifteen
Left
逢ふ事のかたきしなれば白波の立ちよる数はわれのみぞしる
| au koto no katakishi nareba shiranami no tachiyoru kazu wa ware nomi zo shiru | Meeting you is A distant cliff, so The whitecaps’ Numbers breaking there I alone do know. |
28
Right
佗びぬればしひてわすれんとおもへども心よわくも落つるなみだか
| wabinureba shiite wasuren to omoedomo kokoro yowaku mo otsuru namida ka | I suffer, so I’ll make myself forget, I think, yet Is it my fragile heart that Drips with tears? |
29
きてなれし袂は人に見せてましつらき涙の色のかはらば
| kitenareshi tamoto wa hito ni misetemashi tsuraki namida no iro no kawaraba | I was wont to wear These sleeves—to him I would display them: If heartless tears Should change their hues… |
Yurika, from the Hall of the Junior Consort
27
In reply.
忍草しのぶる程のよがれにはなにに心も袖もぬるらん
| shinobugusa shinoburu hodo no yogare ni wa nani ni kokoro mo sode mo nururan | A fond fern I do recall as My nightly visits cease, so Why is my heart and Sleeves, too, so drenched? |
The Assistant Lieutenant of the Middle Palace Guards, Left Division
28
A further poem, from the same gentleman.
つらさには思ひ絶えなんとおもへどもかなはぬ物はなみだなりけり
| tsurasa ni wa omoi’oenan to omoedomo kanawanu mono wa namida narikeri | Your cruelty You might wish to cease, I thought, yet Entirely matchless are My tears. |
The Consultant
11
In reply.
うけひかぬあまの小船のつなで縄たゆとて何か苦しかるらん
| ukehikanu ama no obune no tsunade nawa tayu tote nanika kurushikaruran | You’ll not draw in A fisher-girl’s skiff with A rope that’s Snapped, I think, and what Might be painful about that? |
Higo, from the Palace
12
おもひ侘び恋路にまよふしるべには涙ばかりぞさきに立ちける
| omoiwabi koiji ni mayou shirube ni wa namida bakari zo saki ni tachikeru | Suffering with passion, and Lost upon the paths of love My guide is Simply my tears that Set out before me. |
Consultant and Middle Captain Tadanori
9
The reply, written in a style to blend in with the picture on the paper, of a many-petalled safflower, and attached to a stem of bellflower, made from metal.
恋路をばふみだに見じと思ふみに何かはかかる涙なるらん
| koiji oba fumi dani miji to omou mi ni nani ka wa kakaru namida naruran | Upon the path of love I’ve not seen you take even one step I feel, so Why might you show such Tears, I wonder? |
Kii, in service to the former Kamo Virgin
10
