Left
をみなへし匂へる野辺にやどりせばあやなくあだの名をやたちなん
| ominaeshi nioeru nobe ni yadoriseba ayanaku ada no na o ya tachinan | A maidenflower Shines in the meadows, and Should I find lodging there, Carelessly, would fickle Rumour arise? |
Ono no Yoshiki
88
Right
秋風にさそはれ来つる雁がねの雲ゐはるかにけふぞ聞ゆる
| akikaze ni sasowarekitsuru kari ga ne no kumoi haruka ni kyō zo kikoyuru | On the autumn breeze Has come, inviting, A goose’s cry From among the distant clouds Today I hear it. |
89
Left
梅がかを袖にうつしてとどめては春はすぐともかたみならまし
| mume ga ka o sode ni utushite todometeba haru wa sugutomo katami naramashi | If only the plums’ scent Would shift to my sleeves and Stay there, then Even when spring is past and gone A keepsake would it be… |
35[1]
Right
行く春の跡だにありと見ましかば野べのまにまにとめましものを
| yuku haru no ato dani ari to mimashikaba nobe no manimani tomemashi mono o | Departing spring’s Very tracks I would I saw, so Simply in the meadows Would I remain! |
36
[1] Kokinshū I: 46/Shinsen man’yōshū 21
Left
水のうへにあやおりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべてそむらん
| mizu no ue ni aya orimidaru harusame ya yama no midori o nabete somuran | Upon the waters A confusing pattern paints The rain of spring— Will it now the mountains All dye with green, I wonder? |
19[1]
Right
色ふかくみる野辺だにも常ならば春は行くともかたみならまし
| iro fukaku miru nobe dani mo tsune naraba haru wa yuku tomo katami naramashi | Deep the hues On display within the meadows—if that Should be the norm, then Even when the spring is gone A keepsake they would be. |
20[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 1/Kokin rokujō I: 460/A minor variant of this poem also occurs in Shinkokinshū (I: 65), where it is attributed to Ise: 水のおもにあやおりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべてそむらん mizu no omo ni / aya orimidaru / harusame ya / yama no midori o / nabete somuran ‘Upon the water’s surface / A confusing pattern paints / The rain of spring— / Will it now the mountains / All dye with green, I wonder?’
[2] Shinchokusenshū II: 89
Left
春がすみあみにはりこめ花ちらばうつろひぬべし鶯とめよ
| harugasumi ami ni harikome hana chiraba utsuroinubeshi uguisu tomeyo | The spring haze Spreads its net to catch The blossom—should they scatter, And then, for sure, decline, O, warbler, tarry a while! |
15[1]
Right
春雨の色はこくしもみえなくに野辺のみどりをいかでそむらん
| harusame no iro wa koku shimo mienaku ni nobe no midori o ikade somuran | The spring rain’s Hue great depths Does not seem to have, but How are the meadows with green So deeply dyed? |
16[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 9; Fubokushō II: 464: ‘Haze’
[2] A minor variant of the poem, with a headnote associating it with this contest, and attributed to Ki no Tomonori, appears in Shokusenzaishū (I: 62): 春雨の色はこしともみえなくに野べのみどりをいかでそむらん harusame no / iro wa koshi tomo / mienaku ni / nobe no midori o / ikade somuran ‘The spring rain’s / Hue no great depths / Does seem to have, but / How are the meadows with green / So deeply dyed?’
Left
浅みどり野辺の霞はつつめどもこぼれて匂ふはな桜かな
| asamidori nobe no kasumi wa tsutsumedomo koborete niou hanazakura kana | The pale green Meadows with haze Are wrapped, yet Overflowing is the scent Of cherry blossoms. |
11[1]
Right
春たたば花をみむてふ心こそ野辺の霞とともにたちぬれ
| haru tataba hana o mimu chō kokoro koso nobe no kasumi to tomo ni tachinure | If spring should appear To view the blossoms is the wish Within my heart— With the haze upon the meadows Together it arises. |
12
[1] This poem appears in Shūishū (I: 40), with the headnote, ‘From the Man’yōshū of Lord Suga[wara no Michizane]’. Also Shinsen man’yōshū I: 5 and Kokin rokujō V: 3514 ‘Green’.
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
春雨の色はこしともみえなくに野べのみどりをいかでそむらん
| harusame no iro wa koshi tomo mienaku ni nobe no midori o ikade somuran | The spring rain’s Hue no great depths Does seem to have, but How are the meadows with green So deeply dyed? |
Ki no Tomonori
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
色ふかくみる野辺だにも常ならば春は行くともかたみならまし
| iro fukaku miru nobe dani mo tsune naraba haru wa yuku tomo katami naramashi | Deep the hues On display within the meadows—if that Should be the norm, then Even when the spring is gone A keepsake they would be. |
Anonymous
あきのよにかりかもなきてわたるなる我が思ふ人のことづてやせる[1]
| aki no yo ni kari kamo nakite watarunaru wa ga omou hito no kotozute ya seru | On an autumn night Is that the geese a’crying As they pass by? There is one I love— Would you take a message to her? |
43
おく露にくちゆくのべのくさのはやあきのほたるとなりわたるらむ[2]
| oku tsuyu ni kuchiyuku nobe no kusa no ha ya aki no hotaru to nariwataruramu | Dew falls on The rotting meadows, where The blades of grass with The tired autumn fireflies Do seem to sound… |
44
[1] A minor variant of this poem is included in Gosenshū (VII: 356), where it is attributed to [Ki no] Tsurayuki.
[2] This poem is included in Fubokushō (5548), where it is attributed to [Mibu no] Tadamine.
むらさきのねさへいろこき草なれやあきのことごとのべをそむらむ
| murasaki no ne sae irokoki kusa nare ya aki no kotogoto nobe o somuramu | Do even the gromwell’s Roots take on deeper hues Among the grasses, For in autumn every Meadow does seem dyed? |
39
秋のよにひとを見まくのほしければあまのかはらをたちもならすか[1]
| aki no yo ni hito o mimaku no hoshikereba ama no kawara o tachi mo narasu ka | On an autumn night To see him is All my longing, so On the banks of Heaven’s river Should I be wont to stand? |
40
[1] A minor variant of this poem occurs in Mandaishū (1801) and Shokugoshūishū (688): 秋の夜に人をみまくのほしければ天の川原を立ちならすかな aki no yo ni / hito o mimaku no / hoshikereba / ama no kawara o / tachinarasu kana ‘On an autumn night / To see him is / All my longing, so / On the banks of Heaven’s river / Is where I ever stand!’ (Anonymous).
あきくればむしとともにぞなかれぬるひとも草ばもかれぬと思へば[1]
| aki kureba mushi to tomo ni zo nakarenuru hito mo kusaba mo karenu to omoeba | When the autumn comes Together with the insects Do I weep, That both folk and grass and leaves Have withered, is in my thoughts… |
33
からにしきみだれるのべとみえつるはあきのこのはのふるにざりける
| karanishiki midareru nobe to mietsuru wa aki no ko no ha no furu ni zarikeru | For Cathay brocade Confused the meadows Do seem, for In autumn, the leaves from the trees Have truly fallen! |
34
[1] This poem also occurs in Fubokushō (5580).