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.
