The Beginning of Autumn
Left (Win—in a certain book Tie)
しぐれにもあめにもあらぬはつぎりのたつにもそらはさしくもりけり
shigure ni mo ame ni mo aranu hatsugiri no tatsu ni mo sora wa sashikumorikeri | Neither a shower Nor rain, The first mists Simply rise into the skies And cover all with cloud. |
11
Right
としごとにあふとはすれどたなばたのぬるよのかずぞすくなかりける
toshi goto ni au to suredo tanabata no nuru yo no kazu zo sukunakarikeru | Every year She meets him, yet The Weaver Maid’s Nights of passion Are few indeed. |
Mitsune
12
Composed on plovers on the road to the barrier.
淡路島かよふちどりのなくこゑにいく夜ねざめぬ須磨の関守
awajishima kayou chidori no naku koe ni ikuyo nesamenu suma no sekimori | To Awaji Isle Fly back and forth the plovers— Their calling cries have Wakened, on how many nights, The wardens of Suma barrier? |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
年ごとにあふとはすれど七夕のぬるよの数ぞすくなかりける
toshi goto ni au to wa suredo tanabata no nuru yo no kazu zo sukunakarikeru | Every single year She meets him, yet The Weaver Maid’s Number of nights spent asleep is Few, indeed! |
Mitsune
118
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
あき山に恋する鹿の声たてて鳴きぞしぬべき君がこぬよは
akiyama ni koisuru shika no koe tatete naki zo shinubeki kimi ga konu yo wa | In the autumn mountains A loving stag Cries out, I could die from weeping On nights you fail to come to call… |
Anonymous
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.
Topic unknown.
見わたせば松のはしろきよしの山いくよつもれる雪にかあるらん
miwataseba matsu no ha shiroki yoshinoyama iku yo tsumoreru yuki ni ka aruran | When I gaze across, The pine needles are white In the mountains of Yoshino; How many nights has it been drifting— The snow—I wonder? |
Tadami
わびひとのとしふるさとはあきのののむしのやどりのなるぞわびしき[1]
wabibito no toshi furu sato wa aki no no no mushi no yadori no naru zo wabishiki | For one sunk in sadness In an ancient dwelling Among the autumn fields, where The insects take their lodging, Their cries are more heartbreaking. |
23
あきのよのつゆをばつゆとおきながらかりのなみだやのべをそむらん[2]
aki no yo no tsuyu oba tsuyu to okinagara kari no namida ya nobe o somuramu | On Autumn nights The dew as dewdrops Falls, but, Perhaps goose tears Stain the fields? |
24
[1] This poems also appears in Fubokushō (5579), where it is attributed to Ariwara no Motokata
[2] This poem also appears in Kokinshū (V: 258) and Kokin rokujō (584). In both collections it is attributed to Mibu no Tadamine.
Love as a Month Passes 経月恋
あはぬ夜のかずやはつもるいかなればたちぬる月といふはくるしき
awanu yo no kazu ya wa tsumoru ika nareba tachinuru tsuki to iu wa kurushiki | When nights without a meeting Mount up in number, What am I to do, for The very passage of the moon Does bring me pain… |
Akinaka
Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
夜をさむみ岩波たかき山川につがはぬをしのすだくなるかな
yo o samumi iwanami takaki yamakawa ni tsugawanu oshi no sudakunaru kana | On chilly nights, when Waves break upon the boulders In the mountain rivers, The unmated mandarins do Gather and cry out! |
Nakazane
A poem composed when deep in melancholy thought.
打つ田には稗はしあまたありといへど選えし我れぞ夜をひとり寝る
utu ta ni pa pie pa si amata ari to ipedo eraesi ware zo yo wo pitori nuru | Out in the paddies Barnyard millet is there plenty They do say, yet I, singled out for dessertion Do spend my nights sleeping alone. |
Hie
'Simply moving and elegant'