やま風の桜吹きまく音すなりよし野の滝の岩もとどろに
| yamakaze no sakura fukimaku otosu nari yoshino no taki no iwa mo todoro ni | The mountain wind’s Gusts scatter cherry blossom round, Dropping it with The Yoshino waterfall’s Roar upon the rocks… |
Tag Archives: sakura
Entō ōn’uta’awase 11
Round Eleven
Left
しら雲の朝たつ山のからにしき枝に一むら春風ぞ吹く
| shirakumo no asa tatsu yama no karanishiki eda ni hito mura harukaze zo fuku | Clouds of white Arising with the morning on the mountain: Cathay brocade In a single bunch upon the branch Blown by the breeze of spring! [1] |
Supernumerary Major Counsellor Moto’ie
21
Right (Win)
かづらきや嶺の桜のさきしより心の空にかかるしら雲
| kazuragi ya mine no sakura no sakishi yori kokoro no sora ni kakaru shirakumo | Upon Kazuragi Peak, the cherries Have bloomed and ever since The heavens of my heart are Draped with clouds of white. |
Lord Nobunari
22
The Left’s poem has ‘Arising with the morning on the mountain: Cathay brocade in a single bunch upon the branch’ and, while it mentions spring breezes in its final section and does not fail to reflect the surface appearance of its source poem, conveys a feeling of scarlet leaves without mentioning blossom or cherry, which I have to say is something of a fault. The Right’s poem does not seem poor and lacks any faults worth mentioning, so it should win.
[1] An allusive variation on SIS IV: 220.
Entō ōn’uta’awase 10
Round Ten
Left (Win)
数ならぬ深山がくれを尋ねてぞ心の末の花も見るべき
| kazu naranu miyamagakure o tazunete zo kokoro no sue no hana mo mirubeki | Not for many, but Hidden deep within the mountains, I go seeking for My heart’s final desire: Catching sight of a blossom. |
The Former Minister of the Centre
19
Right
まがひこし雲をばよそに吹きなして峰の桜ににほふ春風
| magaikoshi kumo o ba yoso ni fukinashite mine no sakura ni niou harukaze | I had mistaken The clouds far away A’blowing, for Cherries on the peaks Scenting the breeze of spring. |
Kozaishō
20
Both Left and Right sound elegant, yet still the hue of ‘my heart’s final desire: blossom’ is something I can visualise—thus, it wins.
SKKS I: 87
Composed as a spring poem, when he presented poems to the Poetry Office.
葛城やたかまの桜さきにけりたつたのおくにかかる白雲
| kazuragi ya takama no sakura sakinikeri tatsuta no oku ni kakaru shirakumo | In Kazuragi, On Takama peak the cherry Has bloomed! To the heart of Tatsuta Cling clouds of white…[1] |
Jakuren
[1] An allusive variation on KKS I: 59 and Wakan rōeishū II: 409/SKKS XI: 990.
GSIS I: 120
Composed on the conception of gazing at mountain cherries in the distance, when people were drinking wine and composing poetry at the residence of the Minister of the Centre.
高砂の尾上のさくらさきにけりと山のかすみたたずもあらなん
| takasago no wonoFe no sakura sakinikeri toyama no kasumi tatazu mo aranan | On Takasago’s Heights the cherries Have bloomed; O, I wish the haze around the nearby peaks Would not rise at all! |
Lord Ōe no Masafusa
SZS I: 53
Composed on the conception of seeing blossom every morning.
たづねきてたをるさくらの朝露に花のたもとのぬれぬ日ぞなき
| tadunekite taworu sakura no asatuyu ni Fana no tamoto no nurenu Fi zo naki | I pay a visit and Pluck, with my hand, a stem of cherry blossom; The morning dew My springtime sleeves Dampens every single day! |
The Naka-no-in Minister of the Right
GSS II: 56
When he participated in an archery display, during the reign of the Jōgan emperor [Seiwa].
けふ桜しづくにわが身いざぬれむかごめにさそふ風のこぬまに
| keFi sakura siduku ni wa ga mi iza nuremu kagome ni sasoFu kaze no konu ma ni | Today let cherry blossom Droplets my body Drench! For the scented Breeze has yet to blow… |
The Kawara Minister of the Left
[Minamoto no Tōru 源融 (822-895)]
Kinkai wakashū 52
Cherry blossom on a distant mountain.
かづらきや高間のさくらながむれば夕ゐる雲に春雨ぞ降る
| kazuraki ya takama no sakura nagamureba yū iru kumo ni harusame zo furu | In Kazuraki When on Takama Mountain’s cherries I gaze From the clouds at the cusp of dusk Falls a springtime shower. |
Kinkai wakashū 51
A place famed for cherry blossom.
音にきくよしののさくら咲きにけり山のふもとにかかる白雲
| oto ni kiku yoshino no sakura sakinikeri yama no fumoto ni kakaru shirakumo | The famed Yoshino cherries Have bloomed; Around the mountains’ feet Cling clouds of white. |
Teiji-in uta’awase 07
Left (Win)
さくらちるこのしたかぜはさむからでそらにしられぬゆきぞふりける
| sakura chiru ko no shitakaze wa samukarade sora ni shirarenu yuki zo furikeru | The cherry scattering Breeze beneath the trees Lacks chill— Unaware from within the skies The snow is falling. |
Tsurayuki
13[i]
Right
わがこころはるのやまべにあくがれてながながしひをけふもくらしつ
| wa ga kokoro haru no yamabe ni akugarete naganagashi hi o kyō mo kurashitsu | My heart to The mountainside in springtime Is drawn— The long, long day Today, too, has reached its dusk. |
Mitsune
14[ii]
The Left wins. ‘The Right has “long, long” which is a disagreeable word. It was hissed through pursed lips with drooping shoulders,’ and so it lost.
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (I: 64), with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] This poem is included in Shinkokinshū (I: 81), attributed to Tsurayuki with the headnote ‘A poem from Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.