Round Thirteen
Left
うらちかくふりくる雪はしら波のすゑの松山こすかとぞみる
ura chikaku
furikuru yuki wa
shiranami no
sue no matsuyama
kosu ka to zo miru | Close by the beach
The snow comes falling upon
The whitecaps—that
The pine-topped peak of Sue
The might o’ercome it does appear! |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
24
Right
みよしのの山の白雪つもるらしふる里さむく成りまさるなり
miyoshino no
yama no shirayuki
tsumorurashi
furusato samuku
narimasaru nari | On fair Yoshino
Mountain white snow fall
Drifts high, it seems,
For in this ancient place the chill
Grows ever stronger. |
Sakanoue no Korenori
25[1]
[1] Kokinshū VI: 325: Composed at the place he was staying when he had gone to the Nara capital.
Winter
Round Eleven
Left
霜のうへにふる初雪の朝氷とけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
shimo no ue ni
furu hatsuyuki no
asagōri
tokemu hodo koso
hisashikarikere | Upon the frosts
Falls first snow, turning
Icy in the morning;
The time when it will melt is
Far away, indeed. |
20[1]
Right (Win)
いつのまにふりつもりけんみよしのの山のかひよりくづれ落つる雪
itsu no ma ni
furitsumoriken
miyoshino no
yama no kai yori
kuzure’otsuru yuki | All of a sudden
Has it fallen and piled high
In fair Yoshino
The mountain passes are
Blocked by fallen snow. |
21
[1] Kokin rokujō I: 696
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
Left
あすは又けふをばこぞといひすててをしみしものとおもひだにせじ
asu wa mata
kyō o ba kozo to
iisutete
oshimishi mono to
omoi dani seji | Tomorrow, once again
Will be as today
I’ll say easily and
All those things that I regretted-
I’ll not even think of them! |
Lord Sueyoshi
2080
Right
ふゆのそらわびつつけふになりにけりあとなきにはのゆきとみながら
fuyu no sora
wabitsutsu kyō ni
narinikeri
ato naki niwa no
yuki to minagara | The winter sky is
Ever a source of grief-today
Has just turned out that way,
While my gardens trackless
Snow fills my gaze. |
Ienaga
2081
Judgement: I wonder how the central ‘I’ll say easily’ leads in to the concluding section. The Right’s poem is a little better, I’d say.
Topic unknown.
見わたせば松のはしろきよしの山いくよつもれる雪にかあるらん
miwataseba
matsu no ha shiroki
yoshinoyama
iku yo tsumoreru
yuki ni ka aruran | When I gaze across,
The pine needles are white
In the mountains of Yoshino;
How many nights has it been drifting—
The snow—I wonder? |
Tadami
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
Composed on the evening of the year.
へだて行くよよの面かげかきくらし雪にふりぬるとしの暮かな
hedateyuku
yo yo no omokage
kakikurashi
yuki ni furinuru
toshi no kure kana | Disappearing into the distance
Are the shapes of times gone by,
Darkness descending with
The falling snow—my age
At the evening of the year. |
The Daughter of Master of the Dowager Empress Household Office Toshinari
A profusion of deutzia flowers in full bloom
Left
白妙に卯花さけるかきねをばつもりし雪とおもひけるかな
shirotae ni
u no hana sakeru
kakine o ba
tsumorishi yuki to
omoikeru kana | A spread of white mulberry cloth,
The deutzias have bloomed
Along my brushwood fence
Drifting snow is piled, or
So it seems! |
Minamoto no Narikata
13
Right
みわたせばたかねののべのうつぎ原みな白妙にさきにけるかな
miwatseba
takane no nobe no
utsugiwara
mina shirotae ni
sakinikeru kana | When I gaze across
The high-peak meadows
A field of deutzia,
All as white as mulberry cloth,
Have bloomed there. |
Ōe no Fumi’ichi
14
Gazing at snow on the mountain pines in the morning (秋山望松雪)
Left
おりもせず雲もかからぬ山のはに松の上なる雪をこそみれ
ori mo sezu
kumo mo kakaranu
yama no Fa ni
matu no uFe naru
yuki koso mire | Not descending
The clouds cling not
To the mountains’ edge where
Upon the pines
I clearly see the snow. |
8
Right
山のはのさやかに照れる朝には松にかかれる雪もみえける
yama no Fa no
sayaka ni tereru
asita ni Fa
matu ni kakareru
yuki mo miekeru | The mountains’ edge is
Brightly shining
In the morning:
Clinging to the pines
I can see the snow. |
9
The warm feeling of spring enveloped by smoke (春気籠煙暖)
Left (Win)
梅の花雪にみゆれど春の気はけぶりをこめて寒からなくに
ume no Fana
yuki ni miyuredo
Faru no ki Fa
keburi wo komete
samurakanaku ni | The plum blossom
Seems like snow, yet
The sense of spring
Is surrounded with such smoke
I feel no chill… |
Anonymous
1
Right
咲く花のひかりにもゆる春のきはけぶりをこめて晴れずぞ有りける
saku Fana no
Fikari ni moyuru
Faru no ki Fa
keburi wo komete
Farezu zo arikeru | The blooming blossom
Burning a’glow is
The sense of spring;
Surrounded by smoke that
Never clears… |
Anonymous
2[1]
[1]These poems are included in Fubokushō (I: 92) and (I: 93).
'Simply moving and elegant'