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.
わびひとのとしふるさとはあきのののむしのやどりのなるぞわびしき[1]
wabibito no
toshi furu sato wa
aki no no no
mushi no yadori no
naru zo wabishiki | For one sunk in sadness
In an ancient dwelling
Among the autumn fields, where
The insects take their lodging,
Their cries are more heartbreaking. |
23
あきのよのつゆをばつゆとおきながらかりのなみだやのべをそむらん[2]
aki no yo no
tsuyu oba tsuyu to
okinagara
kari no namida ya
nobe o somuramu | On Autumn nights
The dew as dewdrops
Falls, but,
Perhaps goose tears
Stain the fields? |
24
[1] This poems also appears in Fubokushō (5579), where it is attributed to Ariwara no Motokata
[2] This poem also appears in Kokinshū (V: 258) and Kokin rokujō (584). In both collections it is attributed to Mibu no Tadamine.
あめふればかさとり山のもみぢばはゆきかふ人のそでさへぞてる[1]
ame fureba
kasatoriyama no
momijiba wa
yuki kau hito no
sode sae zo teru | When rain falls on
Kasatori Mountain, take your umbrella,
For the scarlet leaves set
Passing folks’
Sleeves alight! |
19
くりかへし我がみをわけてなみだこそ秋のしぐれにおとらざりけれ
kurikaeshi
wa ga mi o wakete
namida koso
aki no shigure ni
otorazarikere | Time and again
Am I broken
By tears;
The autumn drizzle
Cannot outdo them… |
20
[1] This poem was included in Kokinshū (V: 263), attributed to Mibu no Tadamine.
Round One
Left
山だもるあきのかりほにおく露はいなおほせどりのなみだなりけり
yamada moru
aki no kariho ni
oku tsuyu wa
inaosedori no
namida narikeri | Warding mountain fields, in
Autumn upon a hasty hut
The dripping dewdrops are
Migrating birds’
Tears. |
Tadamine
1
Right
たつたひめいかなるかみにあればかは山をちくさにあきはそむらん
tatsutahime
ika naru kami ni
areba ka wa
yama o chikusa ni
aki wa somuran | Princess Tatsuta:
What manner of deity
Might she be, that
All the mountain’s thousand grasses
She dyes with autumn hues? |
2
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
つれなきを今は恋ひじとおもへども心よはくも落ちつる涙か
turenaki wo
ima Fa koFizi to
omoFedomo
kokoro yoFaku mo
otituru namida ka | Heartless,
She has ceased to love me
I know, yet
Is it from my feeble heart, that
These tears fall? |
Sugano no Tadaomu
Spiders 蜘蛛
ささがには苔のたもとにふるまへど涙ならではくる人もなし
sasagani wa
koke no tamoto ni
furumaedo
namida narade wa
kuru hito mo nashi | A tiny crab
On my mossy sleeves
Does spin her web, yet
Absent my tears,
There is no one to come, at all… |
Toshiyori
Love on Parting 別恋
わかれゆく人ををしむにあらそひて先だつ物は涙なりけり
wakareyuku
hito o oshimu ni
arasoite
sakidatsu mono wa
namida narikeri | Parting from me
His regret is
A match for mine
Setting off first are
Our tears. |
Daishin
Love on Parting 別恋
わかれ行く人にもそはぬ涙さへとまらぬたびの道にもあるかな
wakare yuku
hito ni mo sowanu
namida sae
tomaranu tabi no
michi ni mo aru kana | Parting ever more
Her closeness gone with
Even tears
Endless as the path
She travels on her way! |
Tadafusa
Love on Parting 別恋
いづかたとゆくへもしらぬわかれぢにいかにさきだつなみだなるらん
izukata to
yukue mo shiranu
wakareji ni
ika ni sakidatsu
namida naruran | Whither I am
Bound, I know not
On this path of parting
Somehow, what sets off first
Seem to be my tears. |
Nakazane
Love on Waking from Sleep 寝覚恋
夢にさへ涙せきあへぬ身にしあればねてもさめてもぬるる袖かな
yume ni sae
namida seki’aenu
mi ni shi areba
netemo sametemo
nururu sode kana | Even in my dreams
My tears will not be dammed –
Such is my lot, so
Sleeping and waking both
Have I soaking sleeves! |
Kanemasa
'Simply moving and elegant'