Round Twenty-Three
Left (Win)
雪ふかみしづのふせ屋もうづもれて煙ばかりぞしるしなりける
yuki fukami shizu no fuseya mo uzumorete keburi bakari zo shirushi narikeru Snow so deep that The peasants’ huts, too, Are buried, and The smoke, alone, is Their only sign!
Kinshige 45
Right
花の春もみぢの秋もしるかりし松の木ずゑもみえぬ白雪
hana no haru momiji no aki mo shirukarishi matsu no kozue mo mienu shirayuki By blossom is spring, and By scarlet leaves is autumn Known— The treetops of the pines Invisible with snow, so white.
Kūnin 46
The Left poem’s conception of ‘sign of smoke’ sounds particularly profound. As for the Right, it is possible for enough snow to fall to conceal a pine’s lower leaves, too, so the poem does not sound satisfying.
Topic unknown.
庭のおもは月もらぬまで成りにけりこずゑになつのかげしげりつつ
niwa no omo wa tsuki moranu made narinikeri kozue ni natsu no kage shigeritsutsu The garden’s face Untouched by drops of moonlight Has become; Upon the treetops summer’s Shadows ever lie lush.
Former Emperor Shirakawa
Created with Soan .
On seeing autumn leaves being scattered about during a shower.
おほぞらに木ずゑや心あはすらんしぐれとともにこのはふりしく
ōzora ni kozue ya kokoro awasuran shigure to tomo ni ko no ha furishiku In the broad skies above Is it the treetops or my heart That seems to be revealed? Mixed in with the showers The leaves are blowing about.
On wisteria by a pond.
池水に梢の藤のかげみえて汀はかはるなみのいろかな
ikemizu ni kozue no fuji no kage miete migiwa wa kawaru nami no iro kana In the pond waters Wisteria in the treetops Shape I see; At the water’s edge changing Shades among the waves!
Ton’a (1289-1372) 頓阿
East
朝日かげのぼる梢をから人のあふぎそめてもいく世経ぬらん
asahi kage noboru kozue o karabito no ōgi somete mo iku yo henuran The morning sunlight Climbing through the treetops Is as a Cathay Fan: so dyed How many are the ages passed?
Kanō Morohira 加納諸平
Composed for Her Majesty, to say that this year, she had the liberty to bond with the blossoms.
しらくもにまがふさくらのこずゑにてちとせの春をそらにしるかな
sirakumo ni magaFu sakura no kodue nite titose no Faru wo sora ni siru kana The clouds, so white Blend with the cherry blossom Treetops— Are a thousand years of springtimes Known in the skies, I wonder!
Chūnagon, in service to Empress Taikenmon’in 待賢門院中納言
Topic unknown.
岩なみの木ずゑにかかる心ちしてむすばまほしき庭の松風
iwanami no kozue ni kakaru kokochishite musubamahoshiki niwa no matsukaze The waves breaking on the rocks, Are clinging to the treetops, I feel; O, to bind them with The breeze through my garden’s pines.
The Monk Ken’en
The winter moon.
木の葉なき梢のかぜは音さびて村雲たかき有明のかげ
ko no ha naki kozue no kaze wa oto sabite muragumo takaki ariake no kage In the leafless Treetops the wind’s Sound is lonely, indeed, while Above the high, crowding clouds is The light at dawn.
玉だれのこ末のまどほしみてしより君に心をかけぬ日ぞなき
tamadare no kozue no madō shimiteshi yori kimi ni kokoro o kakenu hi zo naki Strung with jewels, The distant treetops Have frozen and since then Upon you my heart Is hung without fail, every day.
Chamberlain Ietoki 47
Autumn
Left
秋の夜の有明にみれど久堅の月のかつらはうつろはぬかな
aki no yo no ariake ni miredo hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa utsurouwanu kana An autumn night’s Dawn I see, yet The eternal Moon’s silver trees Show no sign of fading!
13
秋萩の花咲く比の白露は下ばのためとわきて置くべし
aki hagi no hana saku koro no shiratsuyu wa shitaba no tame to wakite okubeshi In autumn, the bush clover Flowers bloom—just then Silver dewdrops For the under-leaves Do fall, marking every one.
14
秋風はいなばもそよとふきつめりかりみる程と成りやしぬらん
akikaze wa inaba mo soyo to fukitsumeri kari miru hodo to nari ya shinuran The autumn breeze Seems to rustle the rice stalks As it blows; Seeing if ‘tis time to reap them— Is that what it is, I wonder?
15
Right
銀河とわたる舟は花薄ほにいづるほどぞかげもみゆべき
ama no kawa towataru fune wa hanasusuki ho ni izuru hodo zo kage mo miyubeki Across the River of Heaven A boat goes ferrying: When the silver grass Ears burst into bloom, Can its shape be seen.
16
女郎花さがの花をば色ながら秋をさかりといはれずもがな
ominaeshi saga no hana oba iro nagara aki o sakari to iwarezu mogana Maidenflowers: Blossoms from Saga Reveal their hues, and In autumn are most fine—that Goes without saying!
17
小男鹿の朝たつ霧にうりふ山嶺の梢は色こかりけり
saoshika no asa tatsu kiri ni urifuyama mine no kozue wa iro kokarikeri Stags Within the rising morning mist on Urifu Moutain, where The treetops on the peak Have taken darker hues.
18
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