Left
いそのかみふるのやまべのさくらばなこぞみしはなのいろやのこれる
isonokami furu no yamabe no sakurabana kozo mishi hana no iro ya nokoreru In Isonokami At Furu, on the mountainside is Cherry blossom— The flowers I did see last year: Are their hues lingering on?
Suekata[i] 7
Right
ほどもなくちりなむものをさくらばなここらひささもまたせつるかな
hodo mo naku chirinamu mono o sakurabana kokora hisasa mo matasetsuru kana Before a moment’s gone Seem to scatter The cherry blossoms, after Everyone forever Having made to wait!
Ise 8
The Left only shows affection for the past year, and lacks a conception of the current one—a loss.
[i] Suekata 季方.The identity of this poet is unclear. Hagitani (1963, 174) suggests he could have been the son of any one of a number of nobles: Prince Koga 興我王 (dates unknown); Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 藤原敏行 (?-901/07); Fujiwara no Sugane 藤原菅根 (856-908); or the younger brother of Taira no Atsuyuki 平篤行 (?-910).
をみなへしやまののくさとふりしかどさかゆくときもありけるものを
ominaeshi yamano no kusa to furishikado sakayuku toki mo arikeru mono o The maidenflowers With the mountain meadow grasses Have grown old, yet A time to flourish Did they have once…
45[1]
をみなへしさけるやまべのあきかぜはふくゆふかげをたれかかたらむ
ominaeshi sakeru yamabe no akikaze wa fuku yūkage o tare ka kataramu A maidenflower Blooming in a mountain meadow, with The autumn wind’s Evening gusts revealed, but Who is there to tell the tale?
46
[1] This poem is almost identical to poem 4 in Uda-in ominaeshi uta’awase.
を せきやまみ ちふみまがひな かぞらにへ むやそのあきのし らぬやまべに
o sekiyama mi chi fumimagai na kazora ni he mu ya sono aki no shi ranu yamabe ni On Oseki Mountain I wander lost upon the paths; All uncertain Will I pass the days of autumn in Unknown mountain meadows?
27[1]
を りもちてみ しはなゆゑにな ごりなくて まさへまがひし みつきにけり
o rimochite mi shi hana yue ni na gori naku te ma sae magai shi mitsukinikeri A bunch picked in hand, I gazed at the flowers, and thus Utterly Lost track of time, Completely captivated.
28
[1] A variant of this poem occurs in Uda-in ominaeshi uta’awase (9).
山辺にはさつ男のねらひ畏けどを鹿鳴くなり妻が目を欲り
yamabe ni pa satu wono nerapi kasikokedo wosika nakunari tuma ga me o pori In the mountain meadows A hunter takes his aim, and Though he is afraid The stag cries out, Longing for his mate.
Anonymous
Left
夏の日を天雲しばしかくさなむぬるほどもなく明くる夜にせん
natsu no hi o amagumo shibashi kakusanamu nuru hodo mo naku akuru yo ni sen The summer sun is Briefly by heaven’s clouds Concealed! No time to sleep in The bright night they’ve made!
68
Right
郭公なきつる夏の山辺にはくつていださぬ人やすむらむ
hototogisu nakitsuru natsu no yamabe ni wa kutsute idasanu hito ya sumuramu A cuckoo Singing in summer On the mountainside: Does a man who will not reveal The price of shoes live there?
69
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
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
Round Two
Left
年のうちに春はきにけりひととせをこぞとやいはん今年とやいはん
toshi no uchi ni haru wa kinikeri hito tose o kozo to ya iwan kotoshi to ya iwan Within the year Spring has come once more, so A single year: Should I say ‘tis last year, or Should I say ‘tis this one?
Ariwara no Motokata 3[1]
Right (Win)
みよしのの山べにさけるさくら花雪かとのみぞあやまたれける
miyoshino no yamabe ni sakeru sakurabana yuki ka to nomi zo ayamatarekeru In fair Yoshino In the mountains, the flowering Cherry blossoms: Simply for snow I did mistake them!
Ki no Tomonori
4[2]
[1] Kokin rokujō I: 1
[2] Kokinshū I: 60
Winter
Left
冬くれば紅葉ふりしく神無月佐保の山辺はむべもりぬらん
fuyu kureba momiji furishiku kaminazuki saho no yamabe wa mube morinuran When the winter comes, Scarlet leaves, falling and scattering In the Godless Month, Upon the slopes of Mount Saho, Indeed, are at their finest.
19
冬ごもりかれてみゆらん梅がえは今はた花の春はにほはん
fuyugomori karete miyuran ume ga e wa ima hata hana no haru wa niowan Sealed in winter, and All withered seeming, The plum tree’s branches, Now, for sure, the blossoms’ Spring will scent.
20
冬みれば水もまかせぬ小山田にいつすき返し種をまきけん
fuyu mireba mizu mo makasenu oyamada ni itsu sukikaeshi tane o makiken ‘Tis winter, I see, so There’s no water to draw for The little mountain paddies: O, when might I till them, and Sow my seeds, I wonder?
21
Right
時雨降る宿にすまへば冬の夜に錦とみゆる木木の花かな
shigure furu yado ni sumaeba fuyu no yo ni nishiki to miyuru kigi no hana kana Showers fall Upon the house where I do dwell, so Upon a winter’s night As brocade do seem The blossoming trees!
22
ゆふだすき神の社にかけつればしもし降るにもたのもしきかな
yūdasuki kami no yashiro ni kaketsureba shimo shi furu ni mo tanomashiki kana Sacred mulberry cords Around the God’s shrine Are hung, so Even amidst the frost fall, The future does seem bright!
23
白雲のふたへふりしくときは山うらはへとしはみどりなりけれ
shiragumo no futae furishiku tokiwa yama ura hae toshi wa midori narikere Clouds of white Lie scattered, twofold, upon The unchanging mountain: Stretching out behind, the year Is simply green.
24
よもぎふに露のおきしくあきのよはひとりぬるみもそでぞぬれける
yomogyū ni tsuyu no okishiku aki no yo wa hitori nuru mi mo sode zo nurekeru Upon the mugwort The dew falls, scattered On an autumn night; Sleeping alone, my Sleeves are drenched, indeed!
35
あしひきの山べによするしらなみはくれなゐふかくあきぞ見えける
ashihiki no yamabe ni yosuru shiranami wa kurenai fukaku aki zo miekeru Upon the leg-wearying Mountain meadows break The whitecaps; A deeper scarlet Does autumn reveal.
36
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