When His Majesty ordered him to compose a poem for a love letter match, during the reign of former emperor Nijō.
わすれゆく人ゆゑそらをながむればたえだえにこそ雲もみえけれ
| wasure yuku hito yue sora o nagamureba taedae ni koso kumo mo miekere | Forgetting me, He is, so upon the sky I turn my gaze, where From time to time, indeed, Clouds, too, do show themselves![i] |
Minister of Justice Norikane
[i] See Shige’ie-shū 232 for the reply to this poem in the match..
Composed on the conception of secret love, when His Majesty’s gentlemen presented hundred poem sequences during the reign of former emperor Nijō.
月待つと人にはいひてながむればなぐさめがたきゆふぐれの空
| tsuki matsu to hito ni wa iite nagamureba nagusamegatai yūgure no sora | ‘I’m waiting for the moon,’ I say to folk, but Gazing out, I find no consolation in The twilight skies. |
Minister of Justice Norikane
When a man she had been seeing had failed to visit for a long time, she sent him this in the Longest Month.
おほかたのあきのそらだにかなしきにものおもひそふ昨日今日かな
| oFokata no aki no sora dani kanasiki ni mono’omoFisoFu kinoFu keFu kana | As ever, Even the autumn sky’s Sadness is Overlaid with gloomy thoughts Today, and the day before! |
Ukon
On the conception of the moon in winter after the rain.
いまはとてねなましものをしぐれつる空ともみえずすめる月かな
| ima wa tote nenamashi mono o shiguretsuru sora tomo miezu sumeru tsuki kana | Now, I think, I would to bed, yet The showers that Filled the skies have vanished, and The moon shines so clear! |
Monk Ryōzen
On the autumn moon by the sea, for the poetry match held at the Poetry Office on the night of the Fifteenth of the Eighth Month.
わすれじな難波の秋の夜半の空ことうらにすむ月はみるとも
| wasureji na naniwa no aki no yowa no sora koto’ura ni sumu tsuki wa miru tomo | Never would I forget Naniwa’s autumn Midnight skies, though Clear above another distant bay The moon I see… |
Gishūmon’in no Tango
Composed and sent to Master of the Right Capital Office Akisuke when he was Governor of Ōmi, to remark on his travelling to a distant district.
おもひかねそなたの空をながむればただ山のはにかかるしら雲
| omoFikane sonata no sora wo nagamureba tada yama no Fa ni kakaru sirakumo | Unbearable is my heart’s pain— Upon the distant skies I gaze, but Simply upon the mountains’ edge Cling clouds of white.[i] |
The Former Chancellor and Palace Minister
[i] An allusive variation on Rinkashū 205.
Left
まてといひてとまらぬあきと知りながらそらゆく月のをしくもあるかな
| mate to iite tomaranu aki to shirinagara sora yuku tsuki no oshiku aru kana | ‘Wait!’ I say, but Autumn will not linger I know, so The moon passing through the skies Fills me with regret! |
31
Right
みやまなるもみぢのにしき色にいでてをしむに秋のたたばうからん
| miyama naru momiji no nishiki iro ni idete oshimu ni aki no tataba ukaran | Deep within the mountains The scarlet leaves in brocade’s Hues stand out, so I would regret it were autumn Cut short—how heartless that would be! |
32
Left (Tie)
しぐれつつ草ばもなべてもみづともときはの山にあきはとまれり
| shiguretsutsu kusaba mo nabete momizu to mo tokiwa no yama ni aki wa tomareri | Ever falls the drizzling rain, and Both leaves and grasses, all, Take on autumn hues, yet Within the evergreen mountains Autumn has halted. |
9
Right
をしめども秋はとまらぬ竜田山もみぢを幣とそらにたむけん
| oshimedomo aki wa tomaranu tatsutayama momiji o nusa to sora ni tamuken | How I regret it, yet Autumn does not linger upon Tatsuta Mountain: Its autumn leaves as a garland To the skies it seems to offer. |
10
Left
つゆばかりたのみおかなんことのはにしばしもとまるいのちありやと
| tsuyu bakari tanomi okanan koto no ha ni shibashi mo tomaru inochi ari ya to | Dewdrop fragile Is my trust that dripping On the leaves, your words A little longer might hold My life here, perhaps… |
66
Right
はるさめのよにふるそらもおもほえずくもゐながらにひとこふるみは
| harusame no yo ni furu sora mo omohoezu kumoi nagara ni hito kouru mi wa | Spring showers Fall from night time skies—living on Is not for me, I think, for Beyond the clouds lies The one I love… |
67