さをしかのしがらみふする秋はぎはたまなす露ぞつつみたりける
| saoshika no shigarami fusuru akihagi wa tama nasu tsuyu zo tsutsumitarikeru | Ah, the stag, Entangled, tripped On the autumn bush clover; Dewdrops turned gemlets Have wrapped him all around. |
21
かみなみのみむろの山をわけゆけばにしきたちきる心ちこそすれ
| kaminami no mimuro no yama o wakeyukeba nishiki tachikiru kokochi koso sure | Deities dwell Upon Mount Mimuro, where I forge my way, Cutting and sewing the brocade of leaves, I feel! |
22
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.
Composed when there was much disturbance in the world.
朝な朝な鹿の柵む萩がえの末葉の露のありがたのよや
| asana asana sika no sikaramu Fagi ga e no suweba no tuyu no arigata no yo ya |
Every morning The stag is tangled in Bush clover branches, Dew upon the leaf-tips – Such is the length of life… |
Zōki
増基
On blossom.
奥山に棲むといふ鹿の夕さらず妻どふ萩の散らまく惜しも
| wokuyama ni sumu to ipu sika no yopi sarazu tumadopu pagi no tiramaku wosimo |
Deep within the mountains Lives a stag; Every evening He calls upon his bride, the bush clover, but That it is scattered, brings him only regret… |
心すむ尾上の松の風にまた鹿の音たぐふ秋の夕暮
| kokoro sumu onoe no matsu no kaze ni mata shika no ne taguu aki no yūgure |
Across the enlightened Pines of Onoe The wind, once more Resembles a stag’s cry On an autumn evening. |
Topic unknown.
宮城野の萩や雄鹿の妻ならん花咲きしより声の色なる
| miyagino no Fagi ya wosika no tuma naran Fana sakisi yori kowe no iro naru |
On Miyagi plain Has the bush clover the stag’s Bride become? For since the blossom bloomed His cry takes on its passionate hue. |
Fujiwara no Mototoshi
藤原基俊
Topic unknown.
宮城野に妻とふ鹿ぞ叫ぶなる本あらの萩に露やさむけき
| miyagino ni tuma toFu sika zo sakebu naru motoara no Fagi ni tuyu ya samukeki |
On Miyagi plain Seeking a mate, a stag Cries out Among the speckled bush clover The dew feels chill, indeed. |
Fujiwara no Nagayoshi
藤原長能
On deer.
さを鹿の小野の草伏いちしろく我がとはなくに人の知れらく
| sawosika no wono no kusabusi itisiroku wa ga topanaku ni pito no sireraku |
The stag Lying in the meadow grass Stands out, so Not I but Others will come to know! |
Anonymous
On deer.
さを鹿の朝伏す小野の草若み隠らひかねて人に知らゆな
| sawosika no asa pusu wono no kusa wakami kakurapikanete pito ni sirayu na |
The stag Lies in the meadow in the morn, The grass so fresh He cannot hide – O, don’t let others know! |
Anonymous
[One of] two poems composed by Lord Ōtomo, the Governor-General.
我が岡にさを鹿来鳴く初萩の花妻どひに来鳴くさを鹿
| wa ga woka ni sawosika kinaku patuagi no pana tumadopi ni kinaku sawosika |
To my hill The stag comes and calls; The first bush clover Blooms for his bride Has come to call, the stag! |
Ōtomo no Tabito