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.
Round Twelve
Left
冬の夜の月はとほくやわたりけんかげみしみづのまづしこほれば
fuyu no yo no tsuki wa tōku ya watariken kage mishi mizu no mazu shi kōreba On a winter’s night Does the moon distantly Pass by? For The waters where I saw its face Are the first to freeze…
22
Right
ながれくるみづこほりぬる冬さへやなほうき草のあとはさだめぬ
nagarekuru mizu kōrinuru fuyu sae ya nao ukikusa no ato wa sadamenu Flowing down The waters have frozen With the winter, so will The drifting waterweed still Leave little trace?
23
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.
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 Ten
Left
千鳥啼くさほの川霧たちぬなり嶺の紅葉の色まさりけり
chidori naku sao no kawagiri tachinu nari mine no momiji no iro masarikeri Plovers cry, as The mists from the Sao River Have risen; On the peaks the scarlet leaves’ Hues are fine, indeed.
19
Right
This poem is missing from the surviving texts of the competition.
Round Nine
Left
川ぎりのふもとをこめて立ちぬれば空にぞ秋の山はみえける
kawagiri no fumoto o komete tachinureba sora ni zo aki no yama wa miekeru The river mists Around the foothills Have risen, so ‘Tis in the skies that autumn On the mountains is revealed.
Fukayabu 17
Right
年毎の紅葉ばながす立田川みなとや秋のとまりなるらん
toshigoto no momijiba nagasu tatsutagawa minato ya aki no tomari naruran Every single year Scarlet leaves wash down The Tatsuta River; Is it at the mouth that autumn Might find its port?
18
Round Eight
Left
秋風の吹来る声はやまながらなみ立ちかへるおとぞきこゆる
akikaze no fukikuru koe wa yama nagara nami tachikaeru oto zo kikoyuru The autumn breeze’s Cry comes gusting; And in the mountains, The sound of waves washing back and forth Comes to my ears.
15
Right
すみの江の松を秋風吹くからにこゑうちそふる沖つ白なみ
suminoe no matsu o akikaze fuku kara ni koe uchisouru oki tsu shiranami At Suminoe The pines by the autumn breeze Are blown, so The sound lies atop The whitecaps in the offing.
16
秋きぬとめにはさやかにみえねども風の音にぞおどろかれぬる
aki kinu to me ni wa sayaka ni mienedomo kaze no oto ni zo odorokarenuru That autumn has come With my eyes, clearly, I cannot see, yet The sound of the wind Has startled me.
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor
秋山はからくれなゐに成りにけりいくしほしぐれふりてそめけん
akiyama wa karakurenai ni narinikeri iku shio shigure furite someken The autumn mountains To Cathay scarlet Have turned; How many dippings with drizzle Have fallen to dye them so?
Anonymous
Autumn
Round Seven
Left
秋山はからくれなゐに成りにけりいくしほしぐれふりてそめけん
akiyama wa karakurenai ni narinikeri iku shio shigure furite someken The autumn mountains To Cathay scarlet Have turned; How many dippings with drizzle Have fallen to dye them so?
13[1]
Right (Win)
秋きぬとめにはさやかにみえねども風の音にぞおどろかれぬる
aki kinu to me ni wa sayaka ni mienedomo kaze no oto ni zo odorokarenuru That autumn has come With my eyes, clearly, I cannot see, yet The sound of the wind Has startled me.
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 14[2]
[1] Shokugosenshū VII: 429
[2] This poem was particularly highly evaluated and so is included in numerous other anthologies (Kokin rokujō I: 125), exemplary collections (Shinsen waka 2) and senka awase – contests assembled from prior poems (Shunzei sanjū roku nin uta’awase 61; Jidai fudō uta’awase 49).
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