Bush Clover
Left (Tie)
あきはぎの花のさかりとさをしかのよぶかきこゑといづれまされり
| akihagi no hana no sakari to saoshika no yobukaki koe to izure masareri | The autumn bush clover’s Profusion of blossom, or A stag’s Bell deep in the night: Which was better? |
Koremori
5
Right
したばよりいろづくはぎといひながらことしはつゆも心おくらし
| shitaba yori irozuku hagi to iinagara kotoshi wa tsuyu mo kokoro okurashi | From its underleaves The bush clover takes on autumn hues, They say, but This year, the dew also Seems to fall on my heart. |
Lady Suke
6
Silver Grass
Left
おほかたののべよりまさる花すすき秋はてぬともうつらざらなん
| ōkata no nobe yori masaru hanasusuki aki hatenu to mo utsurazaranan | All o’er The plains so fine is The blossoming silver grass— Even when autumn’s done ‘Twill not fade away. |
Yoshimochi
3
Right (Win)
おもふことこめてはくるし花すすきほにいでていはんそよとこたへよ
| omou koto komete wa kurushi hanasusuki ho ni idete iwan soyo to kotaeyo | All my thoughts Are filled with pain— O, blossoming silver grass, Burst into bud, and say, Rustling, ‘That’s how it is!’ in reply… |
Yugei
4
On the 11th day of the Eighth Month, Tenryaku 10,[i] when Her Northern Highness[ii] was at the Bōjō Mansion[iii] and the moon was particularly charming, the ladies and gentlemen composed on the topics of plants in the garden in her presence. The gentlemen were on the Left and the ladies were on the Right.
Moon
Left (Tie)
よろづよのまつにかかれるあきの月ひさしきかげをみよとなるべし
| yorozuyo no matsu ni kakareru aki no tsuki hisashiki kage o miyo to narubeshi | Throughout ten thousand ages Clinging to the pines has been The autumn moon— Its eternal face Surely we should behold! |
The Honourable Gentleman-in Waiting
1[iv]
Right
よろづよのかげをみよとやおほぞらのてりまさるらむ秋のよの月
| yorozuyo no kage o miyo to ya ōzora no terimasaruramu aki no yo no tsuki | O’er ten thousand ages Should we behold, I wonder, In the heavens Shining brightest of all, The moon on an autumn night? |
Lady Taiyu
2
[i] This date corresponds to 17 September 956.
[ii] Probably Imperial Princess Yasuko (Kōshi) 康子内親王 (919-957), Fujiwara no Morosuke’s final wife.
[iii] The Bōjō Mansion (Bōjōden 坊城殿) was a residence belonging to Fujiwara no Morosuke where he resided in his later years. Records of its exact location have not survived, but it was most likely to the west of Bōjō-kōji 坊城小路 (modern Bōjō-dōri 坊城通), south of Shijō 四条 in Kyoto.
[iv] This poem is included in Shin senzaishū (XX: 2324) attributed to Fujiwara no Takamitsu, with the headnote ‘Topic unknown’; it is also included in Takamitsu’s personal collection, Takamitsu-shū (8) with the headnote ‘From a poetry match’.