Left
あき山に恋する鹿の声たてて鳴きぞしぬべき君がこぬよは
akiyama ni koisuru shika no koe tatete naki zo shinubeki kimi ga konu yo wa In the autumn mountains A loving stag Cries out, I could die from weeping On nights you fail to come to call…
116[1]
Right
契りけむ心ぞつらき七夕の年にひとたびあふは逢ふかは
chigiriken kokoro zo tsuraki tanabata no toshi ni hito tabi au wa au ka wa The vow Of a pitiless heart: The Weaver Maid, But once a year Will meet; can it be true?
Fujiwara no Okikaze
117[2]
[1] Shokukokinshū XII: 1194/Shinsen man’yōshū 119
[2] Kokinshū IV: 178/Shinsen man’yōshū 460/Kokin rokujō I: 143
Left
おく山に紅葉ふみわけ鳴く鹿の声きく時ぞ秋はかなしき
okuyama ni momiji fumiwake naku shika no koe kiku toki zo aki wa kanashiki Deep within the mountains Forging through the scarlet leaves When a belling stag’s Cry I hear, indeed, Autumn is so sad.
82
Right
わがために来る秋にしもあらなくに虫の音聞けば先ぞかなしき
wa ga tame ni kuru aki ni shimo aranaku ni mushi no ne kikeba saki zo kanashiki Not for my sake Has autumn come And yet, When the insects’ cries I hear What lies ahead is sad, indeed.
83
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
あき山に恋する鹿の声たてて鳴きぞしぬべき君がこぬよは
akiyama ni koisuru shika no koe tatete naki zo shinubeki kimi ga konu yo wa In the autumn mountains A loving stag Cries out, I could die from weeping On nights you fail to come to call…
Anonymous
ひとしれぬなみだやそらにくもりつつあきのしぐれとふりまさるらむ[1]
hito shirenu namida ya sora ni kumoritsutsu aki no shigure to furimasaruramu Unknown to all With tears the skies Are ever clouded; The autumn drizzle Seems to fall the harder.
47
あきくれば山とよむまでなくしかに我おとらめやひとりぬるよは
aki kureba yama toyomu made naku shika ni ware otorame ya hitori nuru yo wa When the autumn comes The mountains echo with The belling stags; Will they lose to me These nights I sleep alone?
48
[1] This poem appears in Fubokushō (5546), where it is attributed to [Ariwara no] Motokata.
山ざとは秋こそものはかなしけれねざめねざめにしかはなきつつ
yamazato wa aki koso mono wa kanashikere nezame nezame ni shika wa nakitsutsu A mountain retreat in Autumn is much more Sad; Waking, ever waking To the stags constant cries…
29
ことのねをかぜのしらべにまかせてはたつたひめこそあきはひくらし
koto no ne o kaze no shirabe ni makasete wa tatsustahime koso aki wa hikurashi A zither’s strains By the wind tuned Up— Princess Tatsuta Is plucking out the notes of autumn, it seems.
30
あさぎりにかたまどはしてなくかりのこゑぞたえせぬ秋の山べは
asagiri ni kata madowashite naku kari no koe zo taesenu aki no yamabe wa In the morning mists Having lost their way, Crying, the geese Call out ceaselessly From the autumn mountain meadows.
27
山ざとはあきこそことにかなしけれしかのなくねにめをさましつつ[1]
yamazato wa aki koso koto ni kanashikere shika no naku ne ni me o samashitsutsu In a mountain retreat The autumn, especially, Is lonely. The belling of the stags Continually awakens me.
28
[1] This poem also occurs in Kokinshū (IV: 214 ), where it is attributed to [Mibu no] Tadamine.
A poem from the Poetry Contest at Prince Koresada’s house.
秋なれば山とよむまでなく鹿に我おとらめやひとり寝る夜は
aki nareba yama toyomu made naku sika ni ware otorame ya Fitori nuru yo Fa When the autumn comes Until the very mountains resound Do bell the stags, but Are their cries any less than mine, Sleeping alone tonight…
Anonymous
Temples 寺
木の葉ちり鹿なく秋の山寺はいりあひのかねの音ぞさびしき
ko no ha chiri shika naku aki no yamadera wa iriai no kane no oto zo sabishiki Leaves scattering from the trees, and Stags crying – in autumn At a mountain temple The sunset bell’s Toll is lonely, indeed!
Higo
Composed as a poem on deer.
山ざとのあか月がたの鹿のねは夜半のあはれのかぎりなりけり
yamazato no akatukigata no sika no ne Fa yoFa no aFare no kagiri narikeri In a mountain hut At the edge of dawn A deer’s cry makes Midnight’s misery All too clear…
Jien
Left (Tie)
この比の心の底をよそに見ば鹿鳴く野邊の秋の夕暮
kono koro no
kokoro no soko o
yoso ni miba
shika naku nobe no
aki no yūgure
Of late
Of the depths of my heart
Were you to catch a distant glimpse:
A stag belling in the meadow
On an autumn evening…
A Servant Girl
1067
Right
暮れかゝる裾野の露に鹿鳴きて人待つ袖も涙そふ也
kurekakaru
susono no tsuyu ni
shika nakite
hito matsu sode mo
namida sou nari
Twilight
Drapes dewfall on the mountains’ skirts,
With a stag’s sad cry;
Awaiting him, my sleeves, too,
Are wet with tears.
Nobusada
1068
Left and Right together: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: it would be impossible to ever exhaust the overtones of feeling in ‘a stag belling in the meadow on an autumn evening’ (shika naku nobe no aki no yūgure ) in the Left’s poem; in the Right’s poem the configuration and conception of ‘awaiting him, my sleeves, too, are wet with tears’ (hito matsu sode mo namida sou nari ) is richly evocative. I find it extremely hard to put both poems down, so this round, again, is a tie of quality.
Posts navigation
'Simply moving and elegant'