Autumn
りんだうも名のみなりけり秋の野の千草の花のかにはおとれり
rindō mo na nomi narikeri aki no no no chigusa no hana no ka ni wa otoreri | The gentian, too, Has its name, alone; In the autumn meadows Next to a thousand grasses blossoms Its scent is lesser far. |
Minamoto no Shitagō
After I had had various people compose on the scent of plum carried on the breeze.
梅がかをゆめの枕にさそひきてさむるまちける春の山風
ume ga ka o yume no makura ni sasoikite samuru machikeru haru no yamakaze | The scent of plum To my pillow, where I lay dreaming Was beckoned— Waiting ‘til I awakened did The mountain breeze in springtime. |
Composed on plum blossom.
わが袖に香をだにのこせ梅花あかで散りぬるわすれがたみに
wa ga sode ni ka o dani nokose ume no hana akade chirinuru wasuregatami ni | Upon my sleeves Your scent, at least, leave behind, O, plum blossom! That, unsated, when you have scattered I’ll have a keepsake to forget you not… |
In reply.
春雨にいかにぞ梅やにほふ覧わが見る枝は色もかはらず
Farusame ni ika ni zo mume ya niFoFuran wa ga miru eda Fa iro mo kaFarazu | n such spring rain However might the plum Let out its lustrous scent? The branches before my eyes Have yet to change their hues. |
Ki no Haseyo
In a fifty-poem sequence…
たが袖のにほひをかりて梅の花人のとがむる香にはさくらん
ta ga sode no nioi o karite ume no hana hito no togamuru ka ni wa sakuran | From whose sleeves Have you borrowed the scent Of plum blossom— Will a lady be called out By its fragrance blooming forth? |
Prince Munetaka (1242-1274)
宗尊親王
Left
梅の花香をばとどめて色をのみ年ふる人の袖にそむらむ
mume no hana ka oba todomete iro o nomi toshi furu hito no sode ni somuramu | The plum blossoms’ Scent remains, while Their hues An aging man’s Sleeves do seem to dye. |
33
Right
あかずして過行く春の人ならばとくかへりこといはましものを
akazushite sugiyuku haru no hito naraba toku kaeri koto iwamashi mono o | Unsated by The passing spring: If you are such a one, then Hastily return, is What I’d want to say. |
34
Round Three
Left
氷とくはるたちくらしみよしののよしののたきのこゑまさるなり
kōri toku haru tachikurashi miyoshino no yoshino no taki no koe masarunari | Ice melting Spring has come on scene, it seems; In fair Yoshino, Yoshino Falls’ Roar is fine, indeed! |
5
Right (Win)
はなの色はかすみにこめてみえずともかをだにぬすめ春の山風
hana no iro wa kasumi ni komete miezu tomo ka o dani nusume haru no yamakaze | The blossoms’ hues Have blended with the haze, so I see them not, yet Their very scent is plundered by Spring’s breezes from the mountains. |
6
Spring
Left
春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ
haru no tatsu kasumi no koromo ura mo naku toshi o hete koso hana no chirikere | Spring does sew A robe of haze Without an underlay, The year passes by in A scattering of blossom |
1
春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる
haru no no no yuki ma o wakete itsushika to kimi ga tame to zo wakana tsumitsuru | Across the springtime meadows Do I forge between the snows, Eagerly, so eagerly, For you, my Lord, Have I gathered fresh herbs! |
2
春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを
harugasumi kasumi kometaru yamazato wa kōri toku tomo kage wa mieji o | The haze of spring Blurs all around A mountain retreat, Even were the ice to melt I could see no sign of it! |
3
Right
梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する
ume ga e ni ki’iru uguisu toshigoto ni hana no nioi o akanu koesuru | Upon the plum tree’s branches Has come to rest the warbler; Every single year, that Of the blossoms’ scent He cannot get his fill he sings. |
4
桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで
sakurairo ni hana saku ame wa furinu tomo chishio zo somete utsurou na sode | Cherry-coloured Blossoms flower, as the rain Falls on, yet Dyed a thousand times Fade not, o, my sleeves! |
5
青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ
aoyagi no ito harubaru to midori naru yukusue made mo omoi koso yare | The willow’s Branches dangle lengthily So green Right to the very end Will I fondly think of you. |
6
Singing Girls 妓女
あけぼのにかすみこめたる花よりもあかぬはいもがにほひなりけり
akebono ni kasumi kometaru hana yori mo akanu wa imo ga nioi narikeri | At the dawning Mingled with the hazes are The blossoms, yet far more Unsated am I by my darling’s Scent. |
Daishin
Ancient Estates 故郷
よもぎ分けたづねぞきぬる古郷は花たちばなのかをしるべにて
yomogi wake tazune zo kinuru furusato wa hanatachibana no ka o shirube nite | Forging through the mugwort To visit have I come To this ancient estate, with Orange blossom’s Scent as my guide… |
Daishin
'Simply moving and elegant'