Tag Archives: Sasa

Chūgū no suke shige’ie ason ke uta’awase 96

小笹原夜の間の雪に埋もれてゐなの山風音ぞともしき

ozasawara
yo no ma no yuki ni
uzumorete
ina no yamakaze
oto zo tomoshiki
The groves of young broad-leaved bamboo
In night’s snowfall
Have been buried;
The wind in the Ina mountains
Sounds faint, indeed!

Minamoto no Moromitsu
源師光

Tametada-ke godo hyakushu 369

小笹原末葉に結ぶ白露の光の間にも澄める月影

ozasawara
sueba ni musubu
shiratsuyu no
hikari no ma ni mo
sumeru tsukikage
In the groves of young broad-leaved bamboo
The leaf-tips are bound
With silver dewdrops:
In those bright fragments
Clearly shines the moonlight.

Fujiwara no Chikataka
藤原親隆

Horikawa hyakushu 167

冬草と見えし春野の小笹原弥生の雨に深緑なる

fuyu kusa to
mieshi haruno no
ozasawara
yayoi no ame ni
fukamidori naru
A winter plant
They did appear in the fields in springtime:
The groves of young broad-leaved bamboo
By the Third Month’s rains
Turned the darkest green.

Fujiwara no Nakazane
藤原仲実

GSIS III: 207

Composed on early summer rain, while at the estate of Minister of the Emperor’s Household Tsunenaga at Katsurayama.

梅雨は見えし小笹の原もなしあさかの沼の心地のみして

samidare Fa
miesi wozasa no
Fara mo nasi
asaka no numa no
kokoti nomi site
Summer showers
Have I seen, but broad-leaved bamboo
Groves are there none;
Asaka marsh is
Simply what this feels like!

Fujiwara no Norinaga
藤原範永

Autumn III: 24

Left (Win).

霜結ぶ秋の末葉の小篠原風には露のこぼれしものを

shimo musubu
aki no sueba no
ozasawara
kaze ni wa tsuyu no
koboreshi mono o
Bound with frost
Are the leaf-tips of
The dwarf-bamboo grove, from where
The wind flung dewdrops
Once…

A Servant Girl.

467

Right.

月見れば霜に光を添へてけり秋の末葉の有明の空

tsuki mireba
shimo ni hikari o
soetekeri
aki no sueba no
ariake no sora
Looking at the moon,
Its light the frostfall
Has touched,
Autumn’s last leaf
From the dawning sky…

Lord Takanobu.

468

The Right state that, ‘If it were ‘dewdrops flung by the wind’ (tsuyu wa kaze ni koboreshi), the conception [kokoro] of the Left’s poem would be easier to understand.’ The Left respond that, ‘The meanings of both are identical. However, in the Right’s poem it is not clear what the ‘last leaf’ (sueba) is.’

Shunzei’s judgement: ‘The Right’s poem, in addition to the expression ‘autumn’s last leaf’ having no clear referent, shows a weakness of conception [kokoro sukunaku kikoyu] with ‘looking at the moon’ (tsuki mireba). The Left, progressing from, ‘bound with frost’ (shimo musubu) to ‘leaf tips’ (sueba) and then ‘dwarf-bamboo grove’ (ozasawara) sounds most fine [yoroshiku kikokyu]. Thus, the Left must win.