Tag Archives: nights

Sahyōe no suke sadafumi uta’awase 6

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

Kanpyō no ōntoki chūgū uta’awase 5

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.

Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase 12

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.