Tag Archives: tani

Sahyōe no suke sadafumi uta’awase 9

The Beginning of Winter

Left (Tie)

しものうへにふるはつゆきのあさごほりとけむほどこそひさしかりけれ

shimo no ue ni
furu hatsuyuki no
asagōri
tokemu hodo koso
hisashikarikeri
Upon the frost
Falls first snow turning
To ice with the morning;
The time ‘twill take to melt
Will be long, indeed.

17

Right

かみなづきもみぢのいろはふくかぜとたにのみづとぞおとしはてつる

kaminazuki
momiji no iro wa
fuku kaze to
tani no mizu to zo
otoshihatetsuru
In the Godless Month
The scarlet leaves’ hue
With the gusting wind, and
The waters in the valley, do
Drop completely.

Mitsune
18

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 11

Left

駒なべてめも春の野にまじりなむ若菜摘みつる人は有りやと

koma nabete
me mo haru no no ni
majirinamu
wakana tsumitsuru
hito wa ari ya to
Mounts all over
The springtime meadows before my eyes
Are mixed;
A’plucking of fresh herbs,
Are there folk there, I wonder?

21[1]

Right

鶯の谷よりいづる声なくは春くることを誰かつげまし

uguisu no
tani yori izuru
koe naku wa
haru kuru koto o
tare ka tsugemashi
If the bush-warbler
From the valleys
Did not sing his song,
That spring is coming
Would anyone announce it at all?

22[2]


[1] Shisen manyōshū 13; Kokin rokujō II: 1137, ‘Springtime meadows’

[2] A minor variant of this poem occurs in Kokinshū (I: 14), attributed to Ōe no Chisato: 鶯の谷よりいづる声なくは春来ることを誰かしらまし uguisu no / tani yori izuru / koe naku wa / haru kuru koto o / tare ka shiramashi ‘If the bush-warbler / From the valleys / Did not sing his song, / That spring is coming / Would anyone realise at all?’; also Shinsen man’yōshū 261.

Horikawa-in enjo awase 1

This match took place when, hearing that his courtiers were composing poetry, His Majesty ordered them to compose love poems to the ladies in attendance.

おもひあまりいかでもらさんおく山の岩かきこむる谷の下みづ

omoi’amari
ikade morasan
okuyama no
iwa kakikomuru
tani no shitamizu
My passion’s full, so
How should it o’erflow?
Deep within the mountains
Hemmed in by crags are
The waters of the valley floor…

Major Counsellor Kinzane
1

In reply

いかなれば音にのみきく山川の浅きにしもはこころよすらん

ika nareba
oto ni nomi kiku
yamakawa no
asaki ni shimo wa
kokoro yosuran
For some reason,
I simply hear the sound
Of a mountain stream;
Into the shallows, indeed, has
Your heart been swept, it seems!

[Nakako,] The Suō Handmaid
2

KKS II: 118

A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.

吹風と谷の水としなかりせば深山がくれの花を見ましや

Fuku kaze to
tani no midu to si
nakariseba
miyama gakure no
Fana wo mimasi ya
The gusting wind and
The valley’s waters
Were there none, then
Hidden in the mountains’ depths
These blossoms – would any wish to see them?

Tsurayuki

KKS I: 12

A poem from the Poetry Competition held in the reign of the Kanpyō Empress.

谷風にとくる氷のひまごとに打いづる波や春のはつ花

tanikaze ni
tokuru koFori no
Fimagoto ni
uti’iduru nami ya
Faru no FatuFana
In the valley’s breezes
Does melt the ice, and
From every crack
Do burst waves – are these
The first blooms of spring?

Minamoto no Masazumi
源当純

Love VIII: 23

Left (Tie)
身を捨てゝ思へといはゞ唐国の虎臥す谷に世をもつくさん

mi o sutete
omoe to iwaba
karakuni no
tora fusu tani ni
yo o mo tsukusan
‘Abandon all restraint, and
Love me!’ say that, and
In far Cathay,
In a valley where tiger’s lie
Would I end my life!

Kenshō
1065

Right
もろこしの虎臥す嶋もへだつらん思はぬ中のうときけしきは

morokoshi no
tora fusu shima mo
hedatsuran
omowanu naka no
utoki keshiki wa
In Cathay,
Isles where tigers lie
Stand in between:
A heedless love’s
Chill is such a sight!

Jakuren
1066

Left and Right together: both tigers do not seem to emphasise anything in particular.

In judgement:  both poems refer to ‘tigers’ (tora), with the Left having ‘a valley where tigers lie’ (tora fusu tani) and the Right ‘isles where tigers lie’ (tora fusu shima). These seem to be an attempt to differ from the standard ‘meadow’ (nobe). Saying ‘valley’ or ‘isles’ makes both poems sound modern. They are of the same quality.