Composed on birds.
春霞 流共尓 青柳之 枝喙持而 鴬鳴毛
春霞流るるなへに青柳の枝くひ持ちて鴬鳴くも
| parugasumi nagaruru nape ni awoyagi no eda kupimotite ugupisu naku mo | The spring haze Flows along The green willow Branches, consuming where The warbler sings… |
Anonymous
Tag Archives: warbler
Teiji-in uta’awase 05
Left (Win)
はるがすみたちしかくせばやまざくらひとしれずこそちりぬべらなれ
| harugasumi tachishi kakuseba yamazakura hito shirezu koso chirinuberanare | If the spring haze Has risen to conceal The mountain cherries, Then, indeed, will no one know When they have seemed to scatter! |
Tsurayuki
9
Right
たのまれぬはなのこころとおもへばやちらぬさきよりうぐひすのなく
| tanomarenu hana no kokoro to omoeba ya chiranu saki yori uguisu no naku | Untrustworthy are The blossoms’ hearts I do think, so While they are unscattered Will the warbler sing. |
Okikaze
10[i]
Both of these are the same—they tie.[ii]
[i] This poem is included in Shinshūishū (XI: 1549), attributed to Okikaze, with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’. It is also included twice in Kokin rokujō (I: 31) and (VI: 4395): in both cases the poem is attributed to Okikaze, but the first instance lacks a headnote, while the second is classified as a ‘Warbler’ poem. Finally, it is also included in Mandaishū (II: 254), again attributed to Okikaze, but this time with the headnote, ‘Topic unknown’.
[ii] Given that the Left’s poem here is marked as winning, presumably Uda means that both poems are equally worthy of a win—that is, that this is a yoki ji, a ‘tie of quality’.
Teiji-in uta’awase 03
Left (Win)
きつつのみなくうぐひすのふるさとはちりにしむめのはなにざりける
| kitsutsu nomi naku uguisu no furusato wa chirinishi mume no hana ni zarikeru | Ever coming, simply To sing—the warbler’s Ancient home The scattered plum Blossoms is not. |
Mitsune
5[i]
Right
みちよへてなるてふももはことしよりはなさくはるにあひぞしにける
| michiyo hete naru chō momo wa kotoshi yori hana saku haru ni ai zo shinikeru | Three thousand generations enduring, They say, are the peaches: From this year Blossom blooming spring Have they encountered. |
Korenori
6[ii]
This poem says ‘generation’ when it should be composed about a year—it loses.
[i] This poem is included in Shinchokusenshū (I: 36), attributed to Sakanoue no Korenori, with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] A minor variant of this poem, which changes the first phrase to ‘For three thousand years’ (michi tose ni), is included in Shūishū (V: 288), attributed to Mitsune, with the headnote ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
Uda-in uta’awase 8
Azaleas
Left
かりがねにおもひかけつつしのばなんあまつそらなるわが身なりとも
| kari ga ne ni omoikaketsutsu shinobanan ama tsu sora naru wa ga mi naritomo | Upon the goose cries Ever hang your thoughts, and Remember, that Within the sky-spanning heavens I may yet be… |
Sadafun
15
Right
うぐひすのこゑなつかしくなきつるはのちもこひつつしのばなむとか
| uguisu no koe natsukashiku nakitsuru wa nochi mo koitsutsu shinobanamu to ka | Does the warbler’s Song so charmingly Ring out that Later, ever fondly Will he be remembered? |
16
Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 13
Left
霞立つ春の山辺にさくら花あかず散るとやうぐひすの鳴く
| kasumi tatsu haru no yamabe ni sakurabana akazu chiru to ya uguisu no naku | Hazes rise from The springtime moutainside, where With cherry blossoms’ Scattering unsated, perhaps, The warbler sings. |
25[1]
Right
あまの原春はことにも見ゆるかな雲のたてるも色こかりけり
| ama no hara haru wa koto ni mo miyuru kana kumo no tateru mo iro kokarikeri | Upon the Plain of Heaven The spring is especially Revealed! The clouds stand tall in Vibrant hues. |
26
[1] Shinkokinshū II: 109/Shinsen man’yōshū 31
Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 12
Left
春ながら年はくれなん散る花ををしと鳴くなる鶯のこゑ
| haru nagara toshi wa kurenan chiru hana o oshi to nakunaru uguisu no koe | ‘Tis spring, but The year draws to an end; ‘The scattering blossom I regret!’ sings The warbler’s song. |
23[1]
Right
大空をおほふばかりの袖もがな春咲く花を風にまかせじ
| ōzora o ōu bakari no sode mogana haru saku hana o kaze ni makaseji | If only the heavens I could simply cover With my sleeves, then The blossoms blooming in springtime I’d not abandon to the wind! |
24[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 35; Shinchokusenshū II: 88.
[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 263.
Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 8
Left
春がすみあみにはりこめ花ちらばうつろひぬべし鶯とめよ
| harugasumi ami ni harikome hana chiraba utsuroinubeshi uguisu tomeyo | The spring haze Spreads its net to catch The blossom—should they scatter, And then, for sure, decline, O, warbler, tarry a while! |
15[1]
Right
春雨の色はこくしもみえなくに野辺のみどりをいかでそむらん
| harusame no iro wa koku shimo mienaku ni nobe no midori o ikade somuran | The spring rain’s Hue great depths Does not seem to have, but How are the meadows with green So deeply dyed? |
16[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 9; Fubokushō II: 464: ‘Haze’
[2] A minor variant of the poem, with a headnote associating it with this contest, and attributed to Ki no Tomonori, appears in Shokusenzaishū (I: 62): 春雨の色はこしともみえなくに野べのみどりをいかでそむらん harusame no / iro wa koshi tomo / mienaku ni / nobe no midori o / ikade somuran ‘The spring rain’s / Hue no great depths / Does seem to have, but / How are the meadows with green / So deeply dyed?’
SCSS II: 88
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
春ながら年はくれなん散る花ををしと鳴くなる鶯のこゑ
| haru nagara toshi wa kurenan chiru hana o oshi to nakunaru uguisu no koe | ‘Tis spring, but The year draws to an end; ‘The scattering blossom I regret!’ sings The warbler’s song. |
Anonymous
SKKS II: 109
From the Poetry Contest held by the Dowager Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
霞立つ春の山辺にさくら花あかず散るとやうぐひすの鳴く
| kasumi tatsu haru no yamabe ni sakurabana akazu chiru to ya uguisu no naku | Hazes rise from The springtime moutainside, where With cherry blossoms’ Scattering unsated, perhaps, The warbler sings. |
Anonymous
Shiki koi sanshu uta’awase – Spring
Spring
Left
春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ
| haru no tatsu kasumi no koromo ura mo naku toshi o hete koso hana no chirikere | Spring does sew A robe of haze Without an underlay, The year passes by in A scattering of blossom |
1
春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる
| haru no no no yuki ma o wakete itsushika to kimi ga tame to zo wakana tsumitsuru | Across the springtime meadows Do I forge between the snows, Eagerly, so eagerly, For you, my Lord, Have I gathered fresh herbs! |
2
春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを
| harugasumi kasumi kometaru yamazato wa kōri toku tomo kage wa mieji o | The haze of spring Blurs all around A mountain retreat, Even were the ice to melt I could see no sign of it! |
3
Right
梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する
| ume ga e ni ki’iru uguisu toshigoto ni hana no nioi o akanu koesuru | Upon the plum tree’s branches Has come to rest the warbler; Every single year, that Of the blossoms’ scent He cannot get his fill he sings. |
4
桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで
| sakurairo ni hana saku ame wa furinu tomo chishio zo somete utsurou na sode | Cherry-coloured Blossoms flower, as the rain Falls on, yet Dyed a thousand times Fade not, o, my sleeves! |
5
青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ
| aoyagi no ito harubaru to midori naru yukusue made mo omoi koso yare | The willow’s Branches dangle lengthily So green Right to the very end Will I fondly think of you. |
6