From a poetry match held by Tsurayuki when he was Suō province in Tengyō 2 – The beginning of Summer.
いつしかとなつになるらしうつせみのこゑもあはれになきはじむらし
| itsu shika to natsu ni narurashi utsusemi no koe mo aware ni nakihajimurashi | All of a sudden Summer has come, it seems: Cicada shell Songs, sadly Seem to sound in the air. |
Anonymous
The End of Summer
Left
なくこゑはするものからに身はむなしあなおぼつかなうつせみのよや
| naku koe wa suru mono kara ni mi wa munashi ana obotsukana utsusemi no yo ya | Their voices sing And yet Their flesh is empty— O, how strange is A cicada shell world! |
Tadamine
9
Right (Win)
ほととぎすをちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみのさみだれのこゑ
| hototogisu ochikaeri nake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no koe | A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: The song of a summer shower. |
Mitsune
10
Left
空蝉の侘びしきものを夏草の露にかかれる身にこそ有りけれ
| utsusemi no wabishiki mono o natsukusa no tsuyu ni kakareru mi ni koso arikere | A cicada’s empty shell Is so sorrowful; To a stalk of summer grass, All draped with dewdrops, It’s form does cling. |
43
Right
なつの夜の月はほどなく明けながらあしたの間をぞかこちよせける
| natsu no yo no tsuki wa hodonaku akenagara ashita no ma o zo kakochiyosekeru | On a summer night, The moon lacks time To brighten, so It will do it on the morrow— That is its excuse! |
44
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
かりそめの世やたのまれぬ夏の日をなどうつせみのなきくらしつる
| karisome no yo ya tanomarenu natsu no hi o nado utsusemi no nakikurashitsuru | Is this transient World untrustworthy? On a summer day Why does the cicada, an empty shell, Cry the day away? |
Anonymous
