Round Forty-Three

Left

まくらよりまたしる人もなき恋をなみだせきあへずもらしつるかな

Taira no Sadafun
85[i]

Right

をはつせの花のさかりをみわたせばかすみにまがふみねのしら雲

Senior Assistant Governor-General of Dazai, Shige’ie
86[ii]

[i] KKS XIII: 670: Topic unknown.

[ii] SZS I: 74: Composed as a poem on blossom, when he held a poetry match.

Here is are the poets in the match with their names/titles given in romanised transcription as well as Japanese script.

The Jidai fudō uta’awase 時代不同歌合, or the ‘Poetry Match of Differing Ages’ is what’s known as a senka awase 選歌合, or ‘match of selected poems’, where the are selected according to principles set by the ‘organiser’ of the match and assembled into an uta’awase format. While these types of matches can be created for specific purposes, or events, more often the purpose is critical – to showcase differences in approach to topics or images by different poets.

In the case of this match, the ‘organiser’ was former Emperor Gotoba (1180-1239; r. 1183-1198) while in exile on the island of Oki in the late 1230s, making it one of the last poetic endeavours of his life. His purpose, as should be apparent from the match’s title, was to demonstrate how poets from different historical periods approached similar topics. He provided no judgements, or commentary, on his text, so we have no way of knowing which poems he felt were superior, or even if that was a consideration.

For the match he selected three poems each by one hundred poets, producing a match in three hundred rounds. The poets of the left, the ancient poets, date from the late seventh through to the mid-eleventh century, while the poets of the right, the modern poets, date from the mid-eleventh through to early-mid thirteenth century, although only five of them would still have been living at the time Gotoba assembled the match, including the former emperor himself.

The poets names are given below, and many will be familiar as major and significant poets of their time. A substantial number of these poets are also represented in the Ogura hyakunin isshu 小倉百人一首 collection of one hundred exemplary poems by famous poets, which is thought to have been initially worked on by Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) around 1235 or later, making it contemporaneous with this match.

Poets

See here for a list of the poets names and titles in romanised transcription and Japanese script.

Go to the contest’s poems here.

[i] This poet has a range of sobriquets, although she is most commonly known as Tango, in service to former Empress Taeko (Gishūmon’in no tango宜秋門院丹後), as she was a lady-in-waiting to Kujō Taeko (Ninshi) 九条任子 (1173-1239), known posthumously as Gishūmon’in 宜秋門院, who was empress to Emperor Gotoba. Tango’s other sobriets are Tango in service to the Regent’s Household (Sesshō-ke no tango 摂政家丹後), Tango-shōjō 丹後少将 and the Nun Tango (Tango zen’ni 丹後禅尼).

[ii] More commonly known as Kii, from the Residence of Imperial Princess Sukeko (Yūshi-naishinnōke no kii 祐子内親王家紀伊).     

[iii] More generally known as Sanuki from the Nijō Palace (Nijō’in no sanuki 二条院讃岐).