Left
夏の風我が袂にしつつまればおもはむ人のつとにしてまし
| natsu no kaze wa ga tamoto ni shi tsutsumareba omowamu hito no tsuto ni shitemashi | The summer breeze Within my sleeves Has become entangled, so For the one I’m longing for I would take it as a gift. |
51
Right
なつ草のしげき思ひは蚊遣火の下にのみこそもえ渡りけれ
| natsukusa no shigeki omoi wa kayaribi no shita ni nomi koso moewatarikere | As summer grasses Lush my fires of passion: as Mosquito smudges, Beneath they simply Burn everywhere. |
52[1]
[1] Shinchokusenshū XII: 709/Shinsen man’yōshū 79
Left
古郷をおもひやれども郭公こぞのごとくになれぞなくなる[1]
| furusato o omoiyaredomo hototogisu kozo no gotoku ni nare zo nakunaru | My ancient home Lingers fondly in my thoughts, yet The cuckoo Just as last year Sings as he was accustomed to do! |
49
Right
夏の夜の霜やおけるとみるまでに荒れたる宿を照す月かげ
| natsu no yo no shimo ya okeru to miru made ni aretaru yado o terasu tsukikage | Upon a summer night That frost has fallen It does appear at A ruined dwelling where The moonlight shines. |
50[2]
[1] The concluding two lines of this poem are missing from the contest’s text, but have been supplied by later scholarship.
[2] Kokin rokujō I: 286/A minor variant of this poem is included in Mandaishū (III: 730), with the headnote ‘A poem from the Poetry Contest in One Hundred Rounds held by the Tōin Empress’ なつのよもしもやおけると見るまでにあれたるやどをてらすつきかな natsu no yo no / shimo ya okeru to / miru made ni / aretaru yado o / terasu tsuki kana ‘Upon a summer night / That frost has fallen / It does appear at / A ruined dwelling where / The moon does shine!’
Left
かりそめのみやたのまれぬ夏の日をなど空蝉のなきくらしつる
| karisome no mi ya tanomarenu natsu no hi o nado utsusemi no nakikurashitsuru | Is my transient Flesh untrustworthy? On a summer day Why does the cicada, an empty shell, Cry the day away? |
47[1]
Right
はかもなき夏のくさ葉におく露を命とたのむ虫のはかなさ
| haka mo naki natsu no kusaba ni oku tsuyu o inochi to tanomu mushi no hakanasa | Fleetingly Upon the blades of summer grass Falls the dew— A lifetime, I expect, for The short-lived insects. |
48
[1] A minor variant of this poem, with a headnote associating it with this contest, occurs in Shokugosenshū (XVI: 1058): かりそめの世やたのまれぬ夏の日をなどうつせみのなきくらしつる karisome no / yo ya tanomarenu / natsu no hi o / nado utsusemi no / nakikurashitsuru ‘Is this transient / World untrustworthy? / On a summer day / Why does the cicada, an empty shell, / Cry the day away?’
Summer Poems Twenty Rounds
Left
蝉のこゑ聞けばかなしな夏衣うすくや人のならむと思へば
| semi no koe kikeba kanashi na natsu koromo usuku ya hito no naramu to omoeba | The cicadas’ cry: There’s a sadness in the sound; Summer clothes Are thin, as her feelings Will be, I feel. |
41[1]
Right
にほひつつ散りにし花ぞおもほゆる夏はみどりの葉のみしげりて
| nioitsutsu chirinishi hana zo omohoyuru natsu wa midori no ha nomi shigerite | Ever scented, The scattered blossoms, indeed, I do recall, for In summer the green Leaves, alone, are lush… |
42
[1] Kokinshū XIV: 715, attributed to Ki no Tomonori/Shinsen man’yōshū 43/Kokin rokujō VI: 3973
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
かりそめの世やたのまれぬ夏の日をなどうつせみのなきくらしつる
| karisome no yo ya tanomarenu natsu no hi o nado utsusemi no nakikurashitsuru | Is this transient World untrustworthy? On a summer day Why does the cicada, an empty shell, Cry the day away? |
Anonymous
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
夏の夜は水まさればやあまのがはながるる月のかげもとどめぬ
| natsu no yo wa mizu masareba ya ama no kawa nagaruru tsuki no kage mo todomenu | On a summer night Perhaps, because the waters are so fine Of the River of Heaven? Drifting, the moon’s Face, too, tarries not. |
Anonymous
玉さかに相坂山の真葛原まだうらわかし恨みはてじな
| tamasaka ni aisakayama no makuzuwara mada urawakashi uramihateji na | By chance, On Aisaka Mountain The fields of arrowroot are Still so young— O, do not end up despising them! |
Lady Tsu, in service to the Former Kamo Virgin
33
夏山の下はふくずのうらわかみまだきに露の心おくらん
| natsuyama no shita hau kuzu no urawakami madaki ni tsuyu no kokoro okuran | On the summer mountains The arrowroot, creeping beneath, Seems so young that Swiftly will the dewdrops Fall upon its heart. |
The Minister of Justice
34
Round Five
Left (Win)
なつの夜のふすかとすればほととぎす鳴く一声に明くるしののめ
| natsu no yo no fusu ka to sureba hototogisu naku hitogoe ni akuru shinonome | On summer nights, I’m wondering whether to go to bed, when A cuckoo’s Single call Brightens the dawn. |
Ki no Tsurayuki
9
Right
郭公をちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみの五月雨の空
| hototogisu ochikaerinake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no sora | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: A summer shower fills the skies. |
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune 10[1]
[1] Shūishū II: 116: For a poetry contest at Sadafun’s house.