The Beginning of Autumn
Left (Win—in a certain book Tie)
しぐれにもあめにもあらぬはつぎりのたつにもそらはさしくもりけり
| shigure ni mo ame ni mo aranu hatsugiri no tatsu ni mo sora wa sashikumorikeri | Neither a shower Nor rain, The first mists Simply rise into the skies And cover all with cloud. |
11
Right
としごとにあふとはすれどたなばたのぬるよのかずぞすくなかりける
| toshi goto ni au to suredo tanabata no nuru yo no kazu zo sukunakarikeru | Every year She meets him, yet The Weaver Maid’s Nights of passion Are few indeed. |
Mitsune
12
The morning after Tanabata, he received a poem which had been composed and sent to him from Mitsune’s house, so sent this in return.
あひ見ずてひとひも君にならはねばたなばたよりも我ぞまされる
| aFimizute Fito Fi mo kimi ni naraFaneba tanabata yori mo ware zo masareru | Not meeting and For even a single day from you Parted, I am, so Greater than the Weaver Maid’s Are my swelling feelings. |
Tsurayuki
Left
紅の色にはいでじかくれぬのしたにかよひてこひはしぬとも
| kurenai no iro ni wa ideji kakure nu no shita ni kayoite koi wa shinu tomo | The crimson Of passion I’ll not display, Beneath this hidden marsh Flow waters back and forth, Though I die of this love. |
Tomonori
162[1]
Right
契りけむ心ぞつらき織女の年に一たびあふはあふかは
| chigirikemu kokoro zo tsuraki tanabata no toshi ni hito tabi au wa au ka wa | To be bound is Hard on the heart, indeed! Does the Weaver Maid But once a year Truly have a meeting? |
Okikaze
163
[1] Kokinshū XIII: 661/Shinsen man’yōshū 199/Kokin rokujō III: 1683
Round Nine: Quiet thoughts at Tanabata
Left
八重葎しげる軒ばをかき分けて星合の空をながめつるかな
| yae mugura shigeru nokiba o kakiwakete hoshiai no sora o nagametsuru kana | Eightfold thickets Grow lushly beneath my eaves; Pulling them apart upon The sky of trysting stars Will I turn my gaze! |
Taira no Sadatsugu[1]
Right
七夕のあふよの程は思ひやる心さへこそ空にすみけれ
| tanabata no au yo no hodo wa omoiyaru kokoro sae koso sora ni sumikere | Tanabata is A night for meeting—throughout it I am filled with longing: Even my very heart Does dwell among the skies. |
Fujiwara no Kaneyuki[2]
[1] Taira no Sadatsugu 平貞継. The identity of this individual is unclear. This poem is his sole appearance in a poetry contest.
[2] 藤原兼行