Love.
Left
人知れぬ恋の涙はうぐひすの初声にこそながれいでぬれ
| hito shirenu koi no namida wa uguisu no hatsukoe ni koso nagare’idenure | Unknown to all My tears of love With the warbler’s First cry have Burst into flow! |
3
Right
いかならむときか忘れむ春霞たちゐる空も君ぞこひしき
| ika naramu toki ka wasuremu harugasumi tachi’iru sora mo kimi zo koishiki | What is to become of me? Can I forget the time, when The spring haze Rising into the skies, too, Was dear to me as you? |
4
Tsurayuki’s Poetry Match,[i] 28th day of the Second Month, Tengyō 2[ii]
The beginning of spring.
Left
白雪のみにふりながら梅の花をりつるほどに春は来にけり
| shirayuki no mi ni furinagara mume no hana oritsuru hodo ni haru wa kinikeri | Snow, so white, Falling upon my flesh, While the plum blossom, Branches are breaking Spring has come! |
1
Right
鶯の巣立ちし日よりはるばるとおもひは音にぞまづなかれける
| uguisu no sudachishi hi yori harubaru to omoi wa ne ni zo mazu nakareru | Since the day the bush warbler Departed his nest, Endlessly Have I thought his song For the present has not been here. |
2
[i] Tsurayuki uta’awase 貫之歌合
[ii] 21 March 939
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 39 |
| Title | 貫之歌合 |
| Romanised Title | Tsurayuki uta’awase |
| Translated Title | Tsurayuki’s Poetry Contest |
| Alternative Title(s) | |
| Date | 28/2 Tengyō 天慶 2 [21.3.939] |
| Extant Poems | 26 |
| Sponsor | Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 |
| Identifiable Participants | N |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | The beginning of spring (hajime no haru 初の春); middle of spring (naka no haru 仲の春); end of spring (haru no hate 春の終); middle of autumn (naka no aki 仲の秋); end of autumn (hate no aki 終の秋); beginning of winter (hajime no fuyu 初の冬); love (koi 恋) |
There are few definite details available about this event—and what can be gleaned about it from other texts and the headnotes to poems linked with it in other sources is sometimes contradictory. Hagitani (1957, 266–267) discusses these issues in detail, but briefly the event is said to have taken place at Tsurayuki’s residence, or when he was in Suō province, early in 939. Tsurayuki was between official positions at this time, so if he did make this journey, it will have been in a private capacity, possibly to visit relatives, or because he had property there. It is possible that he held this event either to mark his departure from the capital, or his return, or that he did, indeed, hold it in the provinces, but as the names of the poets taking part were not recorded, it is impossible to be sure.
The match has a somewhat interesting structure, broadly following the seasons with poems on the beginning, middle and end of each, but these are interspersed with seasonally-linked love poems. Rather than following the conventional pattern of having the seasons preceding love, therefore, it blends both topics together, while still maintaining these as the dominant compositional themes. Given Tsurayuki’s eminence and reputation as a poet, Hagitani (1957, 268) suggests that it would have been ‘natural’ for him to have provided judgements on the poems’ quality at the time, but that it was not unusual for these not to have been recorded due to the event’s informal and private nature.
Right
けふひきてくもゐにうつすきくのはなあまつほしとやあすからはみん
| kyō hikite kumoi ni utsusu kiku no hana ama tsu hoshi to ya asu kara wa min | Today do I draw up, Reflecting in the clouds, Chrysanthemum blooms— As stars within the heavens Might they seem tomorrow? |
Kanesuke[i]
8
あたらしきものにざりけるかみなづきしぐれふりにしいろにはあれども
| atarashiki mono ni zarikeru kaminazuki shigure furinishi iro ni wa aredomo | A new Thing it is not: In the Godless Month Showers have fallen Bringing their hues, and yet… |
Kanesuke
9
ひとくさにさけばかひなしももしきにうつりてのちはいろかふなきみ
| hitokusa ni sakeba kainashi momoshiki ni utsurite nochi wa iro kau na kimi | For a single flower To bloom is pointless, but When to the hundredfold palace It is shifted, It’s hues do change, indeed, my lord! |
Korehira[ii]
10
うつろふとみゆるものからきくのはなさけりしえだぞかはらざりける
| utsurou to miyuru mono kara kiku no hana sakerishi eda zo kawarazarikeru | A faded Thing does it appear to be, This chrysanthemum flower; Branch where it did bloom Is unchanged, indeed! |
Tsurayuki
11
きくのはなこきもうすきもいままでにしものおかずばいろをみましや
| kiku no hana koki mo usuki mo ima made ni shimo no okazuba iro o mimashi ya | If upon the chrysanthemum flowers, Both deep and pale, Up to this day The frost had not fallen, then Would I wish to see their hues? |
Mitsune
12
はつしぐれふりそめしよりきくのはなこがりしえだぞまたそはりける
| hatsu shigure furisomemeshi yori kiku no hana kokarishi eda zo mata sowarikeru | Since the first showers Fell to dye The chrysanthemum blooms Deepened hues to the stems Have been added more! |
Mitsune
13
もとよりのいろにはあれどきくのはなかたへはうつすところがらかも
| moto yori no iro ni wa aredo kiku no hana katae wa utsusu tokorogara kamo | From before Had they their hues, yet The chrysanthemum blooms Shine in part— That is their special strength, perhaps! |
Mitsune
14[iii]
[i] Fujiwara no Kanesuke 藤原兼輔 (877-933)
[ii] Fujiwara no Korehira 藤原伊衡 (876-939). Korehira was the third son of Fujiwara no Toshiyuki and enjoyed a reasonably successful court career, eventually being appointed Minister of Justice (gyōbukyō 刑部卿) in 936. As a poet, he has a respectable 11 poems in imperial anthologies, starting with Gosenshū. At court, he was known for being able to hold his drink: Honchō monzui 本朝文粋, a collection of Sinitic writings by courtiers put together by Fujiwara no Akihira 藤原明衡 (989-1066), contains an account by Ki no Haseo of a drinking contest (sake kassen 酒合戦) organised by Former Emperor Uda on the 15th day of the Sixth Month, Engi 11 (911) at his Teiji-in residence, in which Korehira took part, along with seven other courtiers who were famous for being heavy drinkers. Uda had twenty cups of sake prepared for the competitors, but by the seventh round, Taira no Mareyo 平希世 (?-930) had wandered outside the palace’s gate and passed out, Fujiwara no Nakahira 藤原仲平 (875-945) and Fujiwara no Tsunekuni 藤原経邦 (dates unknown) had vomited on the floor and the others were all dead drunk, with only Korehira showing no signs of intoxication. He was still apparently unaffected after the tenth cup, after which Uda declared him the winner, as none of the others were able to continue, and presented him with a swift horse as a prize!
[iii] Ōchikōchi no Mitsune 凡河内躬恒 (Fl. 898-922)
Poems from a Chrysanthemum Match held by the Senior Courtier Gentlemen in the presence of His Majesty, 13th day of the Tenth Month, Engi 13.
Left
ちりはててはななきときのはななればうつろふいろのをしくもあるかな
| chirihatete hakanaki toki no hana nareba utsurou iro no oshiku mo aru kana | All scattered now, For such a brief time are These flowers here; The fading of their hues Is something I regret! |
Okikaze
1
しらくものうへにしうつるきくなればいたくをにほへはなとみるべく
| shiraku mo no uenishi utsuru kiku nareba itaku o nioe hana to mirubeku | A white cloud, Planted is this gleaming Chrysanthemum, so Bright, indeed, shining Does the bloom look to be… |
Suetada[i]
2
あきすぎてはなざかりなるきくのはないろにたぐひてあきやかへれる
| aki sugite hanazakari naru kiku no hana iro ni taguite aki ya kaereru | Autumn is past and The flowers richly blooming are Chrysanthemums: With their hues Autumn does return! |
Korenori
3
なみとのみうちこそみゆれすみのえのきしにのこれるしらぎくのはな
| nami to nomi uchi koso miyure suminoe no kishi ni nokoreru shiragiku no hana | Simply as waves Do they, indeed, appear! At Suminoe Lingering on the shore White chrysanthemum blooms. |
Korenori
4
わぎもこがひもゆふぐれのきくなればあかずぞはなのいろはみえける
| wagimoko ga hi mo yūgure no kiku nareba akazu zo hana no iro wa miekeru | My darling girl Both day and eve is As a chrysanthemum, so Never sated am I with this flower’s Hues I see. |
Korenori
5
きくのはなふゆののかぜにちりもせでけふまでとてやしもはおくらん
| kiku no hana fuyu no kaze ni chiri mo sede kyō made tote ya shimo wa okuran | Chrysanthemum blooms In the winter wind Scatter not; Is it that up to today is when Frost is said to fall? |
Korenori
6
かげさへやこよひはにほふきくのはなあまてるつきにかのそはるらん
| kage sae ya koyoi wa niou kiku no hana ama teru tsuki ni ka no sowaruran | Even their shape Fills tonight with a scented glow; Chrysanthemum blooms To the heaven-shining moon Seem to add their fragrance. |
Korenori
7
[i] Fujiwara no Suetada/Suenawa 藤原季縄 (?-919). Little is known of Suetada’s life, other than that he was apparently close to Ise 伊勢 and exchanged poems with her. The circumstances of his death, however, are recorded in Yamato monogatari, which relates that he fell ill in Engi 19 (919) when he held the position of Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division (Ukonoe shōshō右近衛少将). On a day when he was due to be in attendance at the palace, he sent a message to Minamoto no Kintada 源公忠 (889-948), a Chamberlain and the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Housekeeping, to say that illness prevented his being there. Kintada replied that he should attend without fail on the day after tomorrow, but when that day came, Suetada sent him the following poem:
くやしくぞ のちにあはむと 契りける 今日をかぎりと 言はましものを
| kuyashiku zo nochi ni awamu to chigirikeru kyō o kagiri to iwamashi mono o | I am struck with bitterness! Once more would we meet Did I vow, but Today I meet my end— That is what I would say… |
SKKS VIII: 854
Concerned, Kintada ordered up a carriage and went immediately to Suetada’s residence, only to find he had died before he arrived. Greatly downcast, he returned to the palace and reported Suetada’s death to the emperor.
13th day of the Tenth Month Engi 13,[i] Junior Metal Snake.[ii]
On this day, His Majesty instructed the gentlemen in attendance in the Courtier’s Hall[iii] to prepare a chrysanthemum each, arranged them into two teams, and judged which were superior or inferior. I don’t know who all of these were, but all of the participants entered at the Hour of the Monkey, bringing their assigned flowers. The first team entered via the Gate of Everlasting Blossom,[iv] and the second team entered via the Waterfall Door.[v] They proceeded in order, bearing their flowers in vases into the garden. The first team placed their flowers on a display made of stone to resemble an island in a stream. The second team planted their flowers in a wooden brazier.[vi] Two gentlemen from the Chamberlain’s Office, one for each team, presented the blooms to His Majesty. Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division, Lord Fujiwara no Sadakata was ordered to present himself before His Majesty, and hear the wins and losses for the ten rounds. The first team[vii] won twice and those who had already won performed a dance of thanks in the garden. Four of the various chrysanthemums which had been selected and presented were planted afterwards on the western side of the small garden to the south of the Courtier’s Hall.
On the 9th day of the Twelfth Month, the Gentlemen of the second team were ordered to present the losing blooms. Chrysanthemums sometimes lost. These things should have been presented in the archery ground, but were presented directly in error, because Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division Sadakata and Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Kiyotsura had been drinking wine and left the Attendants’ Office in the early evening.
[i] This date equates to 13th November 913.
[ii] Kanoto no mi 辛巳. This identified the year within a 240-year cycle designated by a combination of Sinitic elemental and calendrical animal signs. See Miner, Odagiri, and Morrell (1985, 407) for a brief explanation.
[iii] Tenjō no ma 殿上間: a room in the palace used by the emperor to conduct his daily business to which only men of the fourth or fifth rank, or higher were generally admitted, unless they were specifically designated as imperial attendants. See McCullough and McCullough (1980, 791) for more information.
[iv] Senkamon 仙華門: located on the north-west side of the Shishinden 紫宸殿, the main building of the palace complex, it connected to the emperor’s personal quarters in the Seiryōden 清涼殿.
[v] Takiguchi 滝口: this gained its name as it was the location from which the stream which flowed through the palace gardens (mikawamizu 御溝水) emerged. It was north-east of the Seiryōden near where the imperial bodyguards were housed, which led to Takiguchi being adopted as a sobriquet for them.
[vi] Hioke 火桶: these were made of a hollowed logs of timber, such as paulownia, and lined with copper, while their outer surface was often decorated with bright colours.
[vii] The Left: that the teams are referred to by number, rather than position, is another unusual feature of this match.
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | 13 |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 25 |
| Title | 内裏菊合 延喜十三年 |
| Romanised Title | Dairi kiku awase Engi jūsan-nen |
| Translated Title | Palace Chrysanthemum Contest Engi 13 |
| Alternative Title(s) | |
| Date | 13/10 Engi 延喜 13 [13.11.913] |
| Extant Poems | 14 |
| Sponsor | Emperor Daigo |
| Identifiable Participants | Y |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | Chrysanthemums (kiku 菊) |
This is an historically significant contest, more for the nature of its organisation and performance than for the quality of the poems produced by the participants. Hagitani (1957, 198–199) argues, based on the match’s preface (below) that this was an event organised by Emperor Daigo at short notice—hence the ad hoc nature of the suhama, and thus the poems were composed on an impromptu basis while the match was taking place. That is, they were not compositions which the participants had an opportunity to spend a great deal of time over. Given this, the judgements, most likely, relate to the quality and beauty of the chrysanthemums, rather than the poetry, making this a clear example of a mono’awase (‘things match’) where the poetry was simply present to provide an additional entertaining element to the activities. A further feature of this event is that, while the preface refers by name to a number of nobles responsible for the selection and presentation of the chrysanthemums, these individuals were not responsible for the composition of the poetry. If the poetry was composed ‘on-the-spot’, then this means that both lower-ranking poets and more senior nobles must have been present, making this an occasion when the social hierarchy was less-rigidly observed than normal.
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 27 |
| Title | 藤壺女御歌合雑載 |
| Romanised Title | Fujitsubo nyōgo uta’awase zassai |
| Translated Title | Miscellaneous Poems from the Poetry Contest held by the Fujitsubo Junior Consort |
| Alternative Title(s) | |
| Date | 8 Engi 延喜 19 [9.919] |
| Extant Poems | 2 |
| Sponsor | |
| Identifiable Participants | N |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | Maidenflowers (ominaeshi 女郎花); autumn leaves (momiji 紅葉) |
白露のわきて染めおく女郎花色ことなりと君に見えなむ
| shiratsuyu no wakite someoku ominaeshi iro kotonari to kimi ni mienamu | Silver dewdrops Parting, leaves dye upon A maidenflower— Her passionate hue, particularly, Resembles you! |
1[i]
永き世のためしにせよと立田姫つねよりことに染むるもみぢ葉
| nagagki yo no tameshi ni seyo to tatsutahime tsune yori koto ni somuru momijiba | O, forever this world’s Condition let them be! Princess Tatsuta More than normal, especially, The scarlet leaves has dyed! |
2[ii]
Only two poems survive from this contest, both of which are included in other collections (see below). Hagitani (1957, 208), while admitting that there is a possibility that these poems may, in fact, have been included in the earlier ‘Garden Match held by the Fujitsubo Junior Consort’ or the ‘Poetry Match held by the Seventh Princess of Former Emperor Uda’ (913), argues that they should be considered to be part of a separate contest on the following grounds: first, that the diary of Fujiwara no Tadahira 藤原忠平 (880-949), Teishinkōki 貞信公記,[iii] states that on the 29th day of the Eighth Month, Engi 19 [25.9.919], mogi ceremonies were conducted for two significant individuals. The most likely candidates to have been coming-of-age in 919, and who would have been worth Tadahira noting, were daughters of Emperor Daigo 醍醐 (884-930; r. 897-930). If their mother was the Fujitsubo Junior Consort, then it would not be unusual for her to sponsor a poetry match to mark the event. Second, that the topics—maidenflowers and autumn leaves—make sense for a match held at the end of the Eighth Month, when autumn was under way. Given this, I have chosen to follow Hagitani and record these poems as remnants of a separate uta’awase.
[i] This poem is included in Fubokushō (XI: 4234) with the headnote, ‘Maidenflowers, from the Poetry Match held by the Fujitsubo Junior Consort, in the Eighth Month, Engi 19’. This month began on 28.8.919.
[ii] This poem is included in Mandaishū (V: 1224) with the headnote, ‘On autumn leaves, from the Poetry Match held by the Fujitsubo Junior Consort’.
[iii] A partial translation of Teishinkōki is available (Piggott and Yoshida Sanae 2009), which provides valuable information about Tadahira and his life. Unfortunately, it only covers the year 939, twenty years after this contest would have been held.
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 38 |
| Title | 大納言恒佐扇合 |
| Romanised Title | Dainagon tsunesuke ōgi awase |
| Translated Title | Fan Contest held by Major Counsellor Tsunesuke |
| Alternative Title(s) | |
| Date | Summer, Shōhei 承平 5 [935] |
| Extant Poems | 1 |
| Sponsor | Fujiwara no Tsunesuke 藤原恒佐 |
| Identifiable Participants | |
| Judgements | |
| Topics | Fans (ōgi 扇) |
住の江の松の風をしこめたればあふぐ扇のいつか絶えせむ
| suminoe no matsu no kaze oshi kometareba augu ōgi no itsuka taesemu | At Suminoe The wind in the pines with regret Is blended, so This wafted fan— When might it cease to wave? |
1[i]
There is no independent record of this event—the only mention of it is in the headnote to this poem in Tsurayuki-shū (see below). If this is accurate, then this is the oldest mention of a Fan Contest (ōgi awase 扇合), and provides tantalizing hints about the conduct of this mono’awase through its mention of the inclusion of a diorama (suhama) (Hagitani 1957, 262).
The sponsor of the event, Fujiwara no Tsunesuke 藤原恒佐 (879-938), was the seventh son of Fujiwara no Yoshiyo 藤原良世 (823-900), and enjoyed a glittering court career, eventually being appointed Minister of the Right in 938. He was made a Major Counsellor in 933, but the poem, and thus the match, can be dated to summer 935 because it appears between poems in Tsurayuki-shū which can be dated to the spring and winter of that year (Hagitani 1957, 262).
[i] A variant of this poem appears in Tsurayuki-shū (VI: 715): A poem from the Fan Match held by Middle Counsellor Tsunesuke, where fans were placed on the diorama. みよしのの松の影をしそめたればあふぐ嵐のいつかつきせん miyoshino no / matsu no kage o shi / sometareba / augu arashi no / itsuka tsukisen ‘Fair Yoshino / The pines’ shade / Has begun to stain, so / The gusting storm— / When might it cease?’
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 37 |
| Title | 内裏歌合 |
| Romanised Title | Dairi uta’awase |
| Translated Title | Palace Poetry Contest |
| Alternative Title(s) | |
| Date | Before 9 Enchō 8 [9.930] |
| Extant Poems | 1 |
| Sponsor | |
| Identifiable Participants | |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | Cuckoos (hototogisu 時鳥) |
さみだれはちかくなるらしよど河のあやめの草もみくさおひにけり
| samidare wa chikaku narurashi yodogawa no ayame no kusa mo mikusa oinikeri | The summer showers Closer must be coming, for Along the Yodo River Both sweet-flags and Waterweed have grown lush, indeed! |
1
This poem is included in Shūishū (II: 108), where it is listed as ‘Anonymous’ with the headnote, ‘From a Poetry Match held during the Reign of the Engi Emperor’.