The kimariji, or "deciding syllables," are the opening sounds of a poem's upper verse — as many as you need to hear before you know, out of all hundred, which poem is being read. They are the key to snatching cards quickly in karuta, and the shortest road to memorizing all hundred poems. Here every poem is sorted by how many syllables it takes to decide it: from the seven one-syllable poems — mu, su, me, fu, sa, ho, se — to the ōyamafuda, the "big mountain cards" that cannot be told apart until the sixth syllable.
Poems that have become songs link from their row to the song page — meaning, the story behind the poem, bilingual lyrics, and the music video.
| Kimariji | No. | Poem | Poet | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aki no | 1 | Aki no ta no kariho no io no toma o arami waga koromode wa tsuyu ni nuretsutsu♪ Listen: “Aki no Ta” | Emperor Tenji | Keeping watch in a makeshift hut beside the autumn rice field, the thatch is woven so coarsely that my… |
| harusu | 2 | Haru sugite natsu kinikerashi shirotae no koromo hosu chō Ama no Kaguyama♪ Listen: “Haru Sugite” | Empress Jitō | Spring has passed and summer seems to have come — for there on heavenly Mount Kagu, they say, pure white… |
| ashi | 3 | Ashibiki no yamadori no o no shidari o no naganagashi yo o hitori kamo nen♪ Listen: “Ashibiki no” | Kakinomoto no Hitomaro | This autumn night, as long as the drooping tail of the mountain pheasant — must I sleep it through alone and… |
| tago | 4 | Tago no Ura ni uchiidete mireba shirotae no Fuji no takane ni yuki wa furitsutsu♪ Listen: “Tago no Ura” | Yamabe no Akahito | Coming out onto Tago Bay and looking up, I see the pure white peak of Fuji, where even now the snow keeps… |
| oku | 5 | Okuyama ni momiji fumiwake naku shika no koe kiku toki zo aki wa kanashiki♪ Listen: “Okuyama ni” | Sarumaru no Dayū | Deep in the remote mountains, when I hear a deer crying as it treads through the fallen maple leaves, that is… |
| kasa | 6 | Kasasagi no wataseru hashi ni oku shimo no shiroki o mireba yo zo fuke ni keru♪ Listen: “Kasasagi no” | Chunagon Yakamochi (Ōtomo no Yakamochi) | The bridge the magpies are said to spread across the River of Heaven — seeing the white frost settled on the… |
| ama no | 7 | Ama no hara furisake mireba Kasuga naru Mikasa no yama ni ideshi tsuki kamo♪ Listen: “Ama no Hara” | Abe no Nakamaro | Looking far up into the wide sky, I see the moon rising — the very same moon that once rose over Mount Mikasa… |
| waga i | 8 | Waga io wa miyako no tatsumi shika zo sumu yo o Ujiyama to hito wa iu nari♪ Listen: “Waga Io wa” | Priest Kisen | My hut lies southeast of the capital, and I live here in peace of mind. Yet people, I hear, call it Mount Uji… |
| hana no | 9 | Hana no iro wa utsurinikeri na itazura ni waga mi yo ni furu nagame seshi ma ni♪ Listen: “Hana no Iro wa” | Ono no Komachi | The color of the cherry blossoms has faded away in vain while the long rains fell — just as my own beauty… |
| kore | 10 | Kore ya kono yuku mo kaeru mo wakarete wa shiru mo shiranu mo Ōsaka no seki♪ Listen: “Kore ya Kono” | Semimaru | So this is it — the Barrier of Meeting Hill, where those who go and those who return, friends and strangers… |
| wata no hara ya | 11 | Wata no hara yasoshima kakete kogiidenu to hito ni wa tsugeyo ama no tsuribune♪ Listen: “Wata no Hara Yasoshima Kakete” | Sangi Takamura (Ono no Takamura) | Tell the people in the capital, O fishing boats, that I have rowed out across the wide sea toward its… |
| amatsu | 12 | Ama tsu kaze kumo no kayoiji fukitoji yo otome no sugata shibashi todomen♪ Listen: “Ama tsu Kaze” | Archbishop Henjō | Wind of heaven, blow shut the pathway through the clouds — I want to keep the beautiful forms of these… |
| tsuku | 13 | Tsukubane no mine yori otsuru Minano-gawa koi zo tsumorite fuchi to narinuru♪ Listen: “Tsukubane no” | Retired Emperor Yōzei | Just as the Mina River, falling from the peak of Mount Tsukuba, gradually becomes a deep pool, so my love has… |
| michi | 14 | Michinoku no shinobu mojizuri tare yue ni midare-somenishi ware naranaku ni♪ Listen: “Michinoku no” | Kawara no Sadaijin (Minamoto no Tōru) | My heart is in disarray, like the tangled patterns of Michinoku's shinobu-dyed cloth. And whose fault is… |
| kimi ga tame wa | 15 | Kimi ga tame haru no no ni idete wakana tsumu waga koromode ni yuki wa furitsutsu♪ Listen: “Kimi ga Tame Haru no No ni Idete” | Emperor Kōkō | For your sake I went out into the spring fields to gather young herbs, and all the while snow kept falling on… |
| tachi | 16 | Tachiwakare Inaba no yama no mine ni ouru matsu to shi kikaba ima kaerikomu♪ Listen: “Tachiwakare” | Chunagon Yukihira (Ariwara no Yukihira) | Though I leave you for the land of Inaba, if I hear that you 'wait' for me — like the pine on the peak of… |
| chiha | 17 | Chihayaburu kamiyo mo kikazu Tatsutagawa karakurenai ni mizu kukuru to wa♪ Listen: “Chihayaburu” | Ariwara no Narihira | Not even in the age of the gods was such a thing heard of — the Tatsuta River scattering autumn leaves and… |
| su | 18 | Suminoe no kishi ni yoru nami yoru sae ya yume no kayoiji hitome yoku ramu♪ Listen: “Suminoe no” | Fujiwara no Toshiyuki | Like the waves that draw near the shore of Suminoe, why will you not come to me even in my dreams at night… |
| naniwa ga | 19 | Naniwa-gata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo awade kono yo o sugushite yo to ya♪ Listen: “Naniwa-gata” | Ise | Are you telling me to live out this life without meeting you even for a moment as brief as the space between… |
| wabi | 20 | わびぬれば 今はた同じ 難波なる 身をつくしても 逢はむとぞ思ふ Coming soon | Prince Motoyoshi | Now that I am sunk in misery, nothing matters anymore. Like the channel markers of Naniwa, I would give up my… |
| ima ko | 21 | Ima komu to iishi bakari ni nagatsuki no ariake no tsuki o machi-idetsuru kana♪ Listen: “Ima Kon to” | Priest Sosei | Only because you said 'I'm coming right away,' I waited through the long September night until the daybreak… |
| fu | 22 | Fuku kara ni aki no kusaki no shiorureba mube yamakaze o arashi to iuran♪ Listen: “Fuku kara ni” | Fun'ya no Yasuhide | The moment it blows, the autumn grasses and trees wither. No wonder the wind sweeping down from the mountain… |
| tsuki | 23 | Tsuki mireba chiji ni mono koso kanashikere waga mi hitotsu no aki ni wa aranedo♪ Listen: “Tsuki Mireba” | Ōe no Chisato | Gazing at the moon, a thousand sorrows fill my heart — though autumn did not come for me alone. |
| kono | 24 | Kono tabi wa nusa mo toriaezu Tamukeyama momiji no nishiki kami no manimani♪ Listen: “Kono Tabi wa” | Sugawara no Michizane | This journey came so suddenly that I could prepare no offerings. Accept instead this brocade of autumn leaves… |
| na ni shi | 25 | 名にし負はば 逢坂山の さねかづら 人に知られで くるよしもがな Coming soon | Sanjō no Udaijin (Fujiwara no Sadakata) | The sanekazura vine of Meeting Hill — if it lived up to its name, I wish there were a way to reel it in and… |
| ogu | 26 | Ogurayama mine no momijiba kokoro araba ima hitotabi no miyuki matanan♪ Listen: “Ogurayama” | Teishin-kō (Fujiwara no Tadahira) | Maple leaves on the peak of Mount Ogura, if you have a heart, please do not scatter — wait until the Emperor… |
| mika no | 27 | みかの原 わきて流るる 泉川 いつ見きとてか 恋しかるらむ Coming soon | Chunagon Kanesuke (Fujiwara no Kanesuke) | The Izumi River wells up and flows across the plain of Mika — when did I ever see you, that I should long for… |
| yamaza | 28 | Yamazato wa fuyu zo sabishisa masarikeru hitome mo kusa mo karenu to omoeba♪ Listen: “Yamazato wa” | Minamoto no Muneyuki | In the mountain village, loneliness deepens most in winter, when I think how visitors cease to come and the… |
| kokoro a | 29 | Kokoro-ate ni orabaya oran hatsushimo no okimadowaseru shiragiku no hana♪ Listen: “Kokoro-ate ni” | Ōshikōchi no Mitsune | If I am to pick one, let me pick by guesswork — the white chrysanthemum, now indistinguishable under the… |
| aria | 30 | 有明の つれなく見えし 別れより 暁ばかり 憂きものはなし Coming soon | Mibu no Tadamine | Ever since that parting, when the daybreak moon looked so cold and indifferent, nothing has been as painful… |
| asaborake a | 31 | Asaborake ariake no tsuki to miru made ni Yoshino no sato ni fureru shirayuki♪ Listen: “Asaborake Ariake no” | Sakanoue no Korenori | At daybreak, so bright I mistook it for the light of the lingering moon, white snow lies piled over the… |
| yamaga | 32 | Yamagawa ni kaze no kaketaru shigarami wa nagare mo aenu momiji narikeri♪ Listen: “Yamagawa ni” | Harumichi no Tsuraki | The weir the wind has built across the mountain stream — it turns out to be autumn leaves, gathered where… |
| hisa | 33 | Hisakata no hikari nodokeki haru no hi ni shizugokoro naku hana no chiruran♪ Listen: “Hisakata no” | Ki no Tomonori | On this spring day, when the sunlight falls so gently, why must the cherry blossoms scatter with such… |
| tare | 34 | Tare o ka mo shiru hito ni sen Takasago no matsu mo mukashi no tomo naranaku ni Coming soon | Fujiwara no Okikaze | Whom can I call a close friend now? Even the pine of Takasago, famed for its long life, is no friend from the… |
| hito wa | 35 | Hito wa isa kokoro mo shirazu furusato wa hana zo mukashi no ka ni nioikeru♪ Listen: “Hito wa Isa” | Ki no Tsurayuki | As for people, who knows how their hearts may have changed? But in this village I once knew so well, the plum… |
| natsu | 36 | Natsu no yo wa mada yoi nagara akenuru o kumo no izuko ni tsuki yadoruran♪ Listen: “Natsu no Yo wa” | Kiyohara no Fukayabu | The summer night ended while I still thought it early evening. Where in the clouds is the moon lodging now? |
| shira | 37 | Shiratsuyu ni kaze no fukishiku aki no no wa tsuranuki tomenu tama zo chirikeru♪ Listen: “Shiratsuyu ni” | Fun'ya no Asayasu | In the autumn field, where the wind keeps sweeping over the white dew, it looks as if unstrung jewels are… |
| wasura | 38 | Wasuraruru mi oba omowazu chikaiteshi hito no inochi no oshiku mo aru kana♪ Listen: “Wasuraruru” | Ukon | That I am forgotten by you, I do not mind at all. But you swore before the gods, and I cannot help fearing… |
| asaji | 39 | Asajiu no ono no shinohara shinoburedo amarite nado ka hito no koishiki♪ Listen: “Asajiu no” | Sangi Hitoshi (Minamoto no Hitoshi) | The bamboo-grass field of Ono, sparse with cogon grass — though I try to hide my feelings, I cannot hold them… |
| shino | 40 | Shinoburedo iro ni idenikeri waga koi wa mono ya omou to hito no tou made♪ Listen: “Shinoburedo” | Taira no Kanemori | I tried to hide it, but my love showed on my face all the same — so much that people asked me, 'Is something… |
| koi | 41 | Koi su chō waga na wa madaki tachinikeri hito shirezu koso omoisomeshika♪ Listen: “Koi su Chō” | Mibu no Tadami | The rumor that I am in love has already spread, though I had only just begun to love in secret, so that no… |
| chigiri ki | 42 | Chigiriki na katami ni sode o shiboritsutsu Sue no Matsuyama nami kosaji to wa♪ Listen: “Chigiriki na” | Kiyohara no Motosuke | We made a promise, didn't we? Wringing out our tear-soaked sleeves, we swore our hearts would never change… |
| ai | 43 | Aimite no nochi no kokoro ni kurabureba mukashi wa mono o omowazarikeri♪ Listen: “Aimite no” | Fujiwara no Atsutada | Compared with the longing I feel now, after we met and were united, what I felt before was as if I had not… |
| auko | 44 | Au koto no taete shi naku wa nakanaka ni hito o mo mi o mo uramizaramashi Coming soon | Chunagon Asatada (Fujiwara no Asatada) | If there were no meeting at all, I would have no reason to resent either her coldness or my own misfortune. |
| aware | 45 | あはれとも いふべき人は 思ほえで 身のいたづらに なりぬべきかな Coming soon | Kentoku-kō (Fujiwara no Koretada) | I cannot think of anyone who would even say 'poor thing' for me — and so, I suppose, I will die in vain. |
| yura | 46 | Yura no to o wataru funabito kaji o tae yukue mo shiranu koi no michi kana♪ Listen: “Yura no to o” | Sone no Yoshitada | Like a boatman crossing the Strait of Yura who has lost his oar and drifts, I do not know where the path of… |
| yae | 47 | Yaemugura shigereru yado no sabishiki ni hito koso miene aki wa kinikeri♪ Listen: “Yaemugura” | Priest Egyō | Around this lonely house, overgrown with layer upon layer of weeds, no one comes to visit — and yet autumn… |
| kaze o | 48 | Kaze o itami iwa utsu nami no onore nomi kudakete mono o omou koro kana♪ Listen: “Kaze o itami” | Minamoto no Shigeyuki | Like waves driven by a fierce wind that shatter alone against the rock, you remain unmoved while I alone am… |
| mikaki | 49 | Mikakimori eji no taku hi no yoru wa moe hiru wa kietsutsu mono o koso omoe Coming soon | Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu | Like the watch fires the guards kindle at the palace gates, my love blazes up by night and nearly dies out by… |
| kimi ga tame o | 50 | Kimi ga tame oshikarazarishi inochi sae nagaku mo gana to omoikeru kana♪ Listen: “Kimi ga tame oshikarazarishi” | Fujiwara no Yoshitaka | The life I once thought I would gladly give for you — now that we have met, I find myself wishing it would… |
| kaku | 51 | Kaku to dani e ya wa Ibuki no sashimogusa sashimo shiraji na moyuru omoi o♪ Listen: “Kaku to dani” | Fujiwara no Sanekata | Since I cannot even tell you 'this is how much I love you,' you surely do not know how my longing burns, like… |
| ake | 52 | Akenureba kururu mono to wa shirinagara nao urameshiki asaborake kana♪ Listen: “Akenureba” | Fujiwara no Michinobu | I know that when day breaks, night will fall again and I will see you once more — and still, how I resent… |
| nageki | 53 | Nagekitsutsu hitori nuru yo no akuru ma wa ika ni hisashiki mono to ka wa shiru♪ Listen: “Nagekitsutsu” | Udaishō Michitsuna no Haha (Mother of Michitsuna) | Do you have any idea how long the night is, when I lie alone, sighing, waiting for it to end? |
| wasure | 54 | Wasureji no yukusue made wa katakereba kyō o kagiri no inochi to mo gana♪ Listen: “Wasureji no” | Gidō Sanshi no Haha (Takashina no Takako) | Your words, 'I will never forget you,' can hardly hold true far into the future — so I wish my life would end… |
| taki | 55 | 滝の音は 絶えて久しく なりぬれど 名こそ流れて なほ聞こえけれ Coming soon | Dainagon Kintō (Fujiwara no Kintō) | The sound of the waterfall ceased long ago, yet its name still flows on, and is heard throughout the world. |
| araza | 56 | Arazaran kono yo no hoka no omoide ni ima hitotabi no au koto mo gana♪ Listen: “Arazaran” | Izumi Shikibu | Soon I will leave this world. As a memory to carry into the next, I wish I could see you just once more. |
| me | 57 | Meguriaite mishi ya sore to mo wakanu ma ni kumogakurenishi yowa no tsukikage♪ Listen: “Meguriaite” | Murasaki Shikibu | We met again after so long, but before I could tell whether it was really you, you were gone — like the… |
| arima | 58 | Arimayama Ina no sasahara kaze fukeba ide soyo hito o wasure ya wa suru♪ Listen: “Arimayama” | Daini no Sanmi | When the wind blows across the bamboo-grass plain of Ina near Mount Arima, the leaves rustle 'soyo' — yes… |
| yasu | 59 | Yasurawade nenamashi mono o sayo fukete katabuku made no tsuki o mishi kana♪ Listen: “Yasurawade” | Akazome Emon | I should have gone to sleep without hesitating. Instead I waited for you, until at last I watched the moon… |
| ōe | 60 | Ōeyama Ikuno no michi no tōkereba mada fumi mo mizu Ama no Hashidate♪ Listen: “Ōeyama” | Koshikibu no Naishi | The road to Tango, over Mount Ōe and through Ikuno, is so far that I have never set foot on Ama no Hashidate… |
| ini | 61 | Inishie no Nara no miyako no yaezakura kyō kokonoe ni nioinuru kana♪ Listen: “Inishie no” | Ise no Taifu | The double-petaled cherry blossoms of the ancient capital of Nara bloom today, more beautiful than ever, here… |
| yo o | 62 | Yo o komete tori no sorane wa hakaru tomo yo ni Ōsaka no seki wa yurusaji♪ Listen: “Yo o Komete” | Sei Shōnagon | You may try to fool me with a fake rooster's cry before dawn, but this is not the Hangu Pass — the Barrier of… |
| ima wa | 63 | Ima wa tada omoitaenan to bakari o hitozute narade iu yoshi mogana♪ Listen: “Ima wa Tada” | Fujiwara no Michimasa | Now all I have left to say is 'I will give up my love for you' — if only there were a way to tell you that… |
| asaborake u | 64 | 朝ぼらけ 宇治の川霧 たえだえに あらはれわたる 瀬々の網代木 Coming soon | Gon-Chunagon Sadayori (Fujiwara no Sadayori) | At daybreak, as the mist over the Uji River lifts in patches, the fishing stakes set in the shallows appear… |
| ura | 65 | Urami wabi hosanu sode dani aru mono o koi ni kuchinan na koso oshikere♪ Listen: “Urami wabi” | Sagami | Even these sleeves, worn out by resentment and tears, are precious to me — and how much more so my good name… |
| moro | 66 | Morotomoni aware to omoe yamazakura hana yori hoka ni shiru hito mo nashi♪ Listen: “Morotomoni” | Archbishop Gyōson | Let us pity each other, mountain cherry — as I long for you, so long for me, for I have no other friend who… |
| haru no | 67 | Haru no yo no yume bakari naru tamakura ni kainaku tatan na koso oshikere♪ Listen: “Haru no yo no” | Suō no Naishi | For a pillow of your arm, as fleeting as a spring night's dream, it would be a real pity to have a worthless… |
| kokoro ni | 68 | Kokoro ni mo arade ukiyo ni nagaraeba koishikaru beki yowa no tsuki kana♪ Listen: “Kokoro ni mo” | Retired Emperor Sanjō | If, against my will, I go on living in this sorrowful world, I will surely look back with longing on… |
| arashi | 69 | 嵐吹く 三室の山の もみぢ葉は 竜田の川の 錦なりけり Coming soon | Priest Nōin | The autumn leaves of Mount Mimuro, scattered by the storm, have dyed the surface of the Tatsuta River like a… |
| sa | 70 | Sabishisa ni yado o tachiidete nagamureba izuko mo onaji aki no yūgure♪ Listen: “Sabishisa ni” | Ryōzen Hōshi | Unable to bear the loneliness, I stepped out of my hut and looked around — everywhere was wrapped in the same… |
| yū | 71 | Yū sareba kadota no inaba otozurete ashi no maroya ni akikaze zo fuku♪ Listen: “Yū Sareba” | Dainagon Tsunenobu (Minamoto no Tsunenobu) | When evening comes, the autumn wind visits my humble reed-thatched hut, rustling the rice leaves in the field… |
| oto | 72 | Oto ni kiku Takashi no hama no adanami wa kakeji ya sode no nure mo koso sure♪ Listen: “Oto ni kiku” | Yūshi Naishinnō-ke no Kii (Lady Kii) | I will not let the fickle waves of Takashi's famous shore touch me — if I trusted your flirting words, my… |
| taka | 73 | Takasago no onoe no sakura sakinikeri toyama no kasumi tatazu mo aranan♪ Listen: “Takasago no” | Ōe no Masafusa | The cherry trees on the high mountain peak have bloomed. Mist of the nearer hills, please do not rise and… |
| uka | 74 | 憂かりける 人を初瀬の 山おろしよ はげしかれとは 祈らぬものを Coming soon | Minamoto no Toshiyori | I prayed to the Kannon of Hatsuse that she would turn toward me — but I never prayed for her to grow as… |
| chigiri o | 75 | 契りおきし させもが露を 命にて あはれ今年の 秋もいぬめり Coming soon | Fujiwara no Mototoshi | I clung to your promise, 'Rely on me as the dew relies on the sashimo grass,' as my very lifeline — and yet… |
| wata no hara ko | 76 | Wata no hara kogiidete mireba hisakata no kumoi ni magau okitsu shiranami♪ Listen: “Wata no Hara Kogiidete” | Hosshōji Nyūdō (Fujiwara no Tadamichi) | Rowing out across the wide sea and looking around, I see white waves far offshore that could be mistaken for… |
| se | 77 | Se o hayami iwa ni sekaruru takigawa no warete mo sue ni awan to zo omou♪ Listen: “Se o Hayami” | Retired Emperor Sutoku | Just as the swift current, split in two by a rock, joins together again downstream, so we, though parted now… |
| awaji | 78 | 淡路島 かよふ千鳥の 鳴く声に 幾夜寝覚めぬ 須磨の関守 Coming soon | Minamoto no Kanemasa | How many nights has the barrier guard of Suma been woken by the mournful cries of plovers flying over from… |
| aki ka | 79 | Akikaze ni tanabiku kumo no taema yori moreizuru tsuki no kage no sayakesa♪ Listen: “Akikaze ni” | Sakyō no Daibu Akisuke (Fujiwara no Akisuke) | Through a gap in the clouds trailing on the autumn wind, the moonlight streams out — how clear and bright it… |
| nagaka | 80 | Nagakaran kokoro mo shirazu kurokami no midarete kesa wa mono o koso omoe♪ Listen: “Nagakaran” | Taikenmon'in no Horikawa | I cannot know whether your heart will remain unchanged forever. This morning my thoughts are as tangled as my… |
| ho | 81 | Hototogisu nakitsuru kata o nagamureba tada ariake no tsuki zo nokoreru♪ Listen: “Hototogisu” | Go-Tokudaiji no Sadaijin (Fujiwara no Sanesada) | I looked toward where the cuckoo had sung, and all that remained there was the pale moon of dawn. |
| omo | 82 | 思ひわび さても命は あるものを 憂きに堪へぬは 涙なりけり Coming soon | Priest Dōin | Though I brood over my misery, my life somehow goes on — but my tears, unable to bear the sorrow, are the… |
| yo no naka yo | 83 | Yo no naka yo michi koso nakere omoi iru yama no oku ni mo shika zo naku naru Coming soon | Kōtaigōgū no Daibu Toshinari (Fujiwara no Shunzei) | There is no escape from this world. Even deep in the mountains where I fled to leave it behind, a deer cries… |
| nagara | 84 | Nagaraeba mata konogoro ya shinobaren ushi to mishi yo zo ima wa koishiki♪ Listen: “Nagaraeba” | Fujiwara no Kiyosuke | If I live on, will I someday look back fondly on even these painful days? For the days I once found so hard… |
| yomo | 85 | Yomosugara mono omou koro wa akeyarade neya no hima sae tsurenakarikeri♪ Listen: “Yomosugara” | Priest Shun'e | These days I brood all night long, and even the cracks in my bedroom door seem cold and heartless, as the… |
| nageke | 86 | Nageke tote tsuki ya wa mono o omowasuru kakochigao naru waga namida kana♪ Listen: “Nageke tote” | Priest Saigyō | Does the moon command me to grieve, forcing these thoughts upon me? No — and yet my tears keep falling, as if… |
| mu | 87 | Murasame no tsuyu mo mada hinu maki no ha ni kiri tachinoboru aki no yūgure♪ Listen: “Murasame no” | Priest Jakuren | The dew of a passing shower has not yet dried on the leaves of the black pines, and already the mist is… |
| naniwa e | 88 | Naniwae no ashi no karine no hitoyo yue mi o tsukushite ya koiwatarubeki♪ Listen: “Naniwae no” | Kōkamon'in no Bettō | For a single night's rest, brief as one joint of a cut reed in Naniwa Bay, must I love you my whole life… |
| tama | 89 | Tama no o yo taenaba taene nagaraeba shinoburu koto no yowari mo zo suru♪ Listen: “Tama no O yo” | Princess Shikishi | O thread of my life, if you must break, then break now. If I live on, my strength to hide this love will… |
| mise | 90 | Misebaya na Ojima no ama no sode dani mo nure ni zo nureshi iro wa kawarazu♪ Listen: “Misebaya na” | Inpumon'in no Taifu | How I wish I could show you my sleeves — even the fishermen's sleeves on Ojima, drenched and drenched again… |
| kiri | 91 | きりぎりす 鳴くや霜夜の さむしろに 衣かたしき ひとりかも寝む Coming soon | Go-Kyōgoku Sesshō (Fujiwara no Yoshitsune) | On this cold, frosty night, while the crickets cry, must I sleep alone on a straw mat with only one sleeve of… |
| waga so | 92 | Waga sode wa shiohi ni mienu oki no ishi no hito koso shirane kawaku ma mo nashi♪ Listen: “Waga Sode wa” | Nijōin no Sanuki | My sleeves are like the offshore stone that stays hidden beneath the sea even at low tide — no one knows of… |
| yo no naka wa | 93 | Yo no naka wa tsune ni mogamo na nagisa kogu ama no obune no tsunade kanashi mo♪ Listen: “Yo no Naka wa” | Minamoto no Sanetomo | If only this world could stay unchanged forever. How dear it is, this ordinary sight of a fisherman's small… |
| miyo | 94 | Miyoshino no yama no akikaze sayo fukete furusato samuku koromo utsu nari♪ Listen: “Miyoshino no” | Sangi Masatsune (Fujiwara no Masatsune) | The autumn wind blows through the mountains of Yoshino, and as the night deepens, the sound of cloth being… |
| ōke | 95 | Ōkenaku ukiyo no tami ni ōu kana waga tatsu soma ni sumizome no sode♪ Listen: “Ōkenaku” | Archbishop Jien | Presumptuous though it is, I will shelter the people who live in this sorrowful world with these ink-black… |
| hana sa | 96 | 花さそふ 嵐の庭の 雪ならで ふりゆくものは わが身なりけり Coming soon | Nyūdō Saki no Daijō-daijin (Fujiwara no Kintsune) | The garden, where the storm lures the blossoms down, is white as snow — but what is truly growing old and… |
| konu | 97 | Konu hito o Matsuho no ura no yūnagi ni yaku ya moshio no mi mo kogaretsutsu♪ Listen: “Konu Hito o” | Fujiwara no Teika | Waiting for someone who does not come, I burn with longing like the seaweed salt-fires smoldering in the… |
| kaze so | 98 | Kaze soyogu Nara no ogawa no yūgure wa misogi zo natsu no shirushi narikeru♪ Listen: “Kaze Soyogu” | Fujiwara no Ietaka | On this evening when the wind rustles the oak leaves by the Nara brook, autumn already feels near — only the… |
| hito mo | 99 | 人も愛し 人も恨めし あぢきなく 世を思ふゆゑに 物思ふ身は Coming soon | Retired Emperor Go-Toba | People seem dear to me, and people seem hateful too — for I brood over this world that will not go the way I… |
| momo | 100 | 百敷や 古き軒端の しのぶにも なほあまりある 昔なりけり Coming soon | Retired Emperor Juntoku | Seeing the fern growing on the old eaves of the palace, I long for the glorious reigns of the past — and no… |
Listen to the upper verse from its first sound: the kimariji are the sounds up to the point where the poem can no longer be confused with any of the other 99. For example, only one poem begins with mu — No. 87, "Murasame no" — so its kimariji is the single syllable mu. Two poems begin with asaborake, so you have to wait for the sixth syllable, a or u, before you know which it is. In karuta, players take the card the instant the kimariji has been read.
They are remembered as "musume fu sa ho se" (musume means "daughter," which makes the string easy to recall). Mu = No. 87 "Murasame no" (Priest Jakuren); su = No. 18 "Sumi no e no" (Fujiwara no Toshiyuki); me = No. 57 "Meguriaite" (Murasaki Shikibu); fu = No. 22 "Fuku kara ni" (Fun'ya no Yasuhide); sa = No. 70 "Sabishisa ni" (Ryōzen Hōshi); ho = No. 81 "Hototogisu" (Go-Tokudaiji no Sadaijin); se = No. 77 "Se o hayami" (Retired Emperor Sutoku).
The "big mountain cards": six-syllable poems that cannot be decided until the sixth sound has been read. There are three pairs, six poems in all — "Wata no hara" (Nos. 11 and 76), "Asaborake" (Nos. 31 and 64), and "Kimi ga tame" (Nos. 15 and 50). Because their kimariji are so long, these cards are hard to take, and karuta players named them after a great mountain that is tough to climb.
Seven one-syllable poems, 42 two-syllable, 37 three-syllable, 6 four-syllable, 2 five-syllable ("Yo no naka yo" and "Yo no naka wa"), and 6 six-syllable poems (the ōyamafuda) — 100 in all. In competitive karuta, players also track "changing kimariji": once a card has been taken, the kimariji of its rival becomes shorter.