Tag Archives: hagi

Daigo ōntoki kiku awase

Daigo ōntoki kiku awase 11

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おくしもにいろめかへしうつりつつはぎのさかりはけふながらみむ

oku shimo ni
irome kaeshi
utsuritsutsu
hagi no sakari wa
kyō nagara mimu		With the falling frost
Patterns of hues are exchanged and
Ever shifting, so
Upon the profuse bush-clover
Will I gaze all day, today.

[Fujiwara no] Ariyoshi
21

いとはしきものにもあるかなきくのはなうつろふとやはいろをみすべき

itowashiki
mono ni mo aru kana
kiku no hana
utsurou to ya wa
iro o misubeki		Something distasteful
Is there about them, too!
Chrysanthemum blooms
Will fade, so why
Must they display such passionate hues?

[Minamoto no] Kintada
22

Kinkai wakashū

Kinkai wakashū 210

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When the bush clover was lingering in the grounds, and I was unable to see whether the blossoms had scattered with the moon shining behind them.

萩のはなくれぐれまでもありつるが月いでてみるになきがはかなさ

hagi no hana
kuregure made mo
aritsuru ga
tsuki idete miru ni
naki ga hakanasa		The bush clover blooms
Right until the evening
Did linger, but
With the rising moon they seem
Gone—how brief they are!
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 07

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Round Seven

Left (Win)

萩がはな分けゆく程は古郷へかへらぬ人もにしきをぞきる

hagi ga hana
wakeyuku hodo wa
furusato e
kaeranu hito mo
nishiki o zo kiru		When through the bush-clover blooms
He forges his way,
To his ancient home
Never to return—that man, too,
Wears a fine brocade!

Minamoto no Arifusa, Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division

13

Right

声たてて鳴くむしよりも女郎花いはぬ色こそ身にはしみけれ

koe tatete
naku mushi yori mo
ominaeshi
iwanu iro koso
mi ni wa shimikere		They lift their songs in
Plaintive cries, but far more than the insects
‘Tis the maidenflower’s
Wordless hue that truly
Pierce my soul!

Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs Sadanaga
14

The Left is well-composed, but what is the Right’s ‘wordless hue’? Are we supposed to imagine that the expression means ‘silent yellow’? This is difficult to grasp, isn’t it. Whatever way you look at it, the Left seems to win.

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 05

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Round Five

Left

あきののは花の色色おほかれど萩のにしきにしく物ぞなき

aki no no wa
hana no iroiro
ōkaredo
hagi no nishiki ni
shiku mono zo naki		In the autumn meadows
The blooms have hues
Aplenty, yet
To the bush-clover’s brocade
There’s nothing to compare.

Lord Fujiwara no Yorisuke, Assistant Master of the Empress Dowager’s Household Office
9

Right (Win)

ほりはてぬ花こそあらめ秋ののに心をさへものこしつるかな

horihatenu
hana koso arame
aki no no ni
kokoro o sae mo
nokoshitsuru kana		As yet undug
Flowers, indeed, may there be
In the autumn meadows, for
Even my heart
Does linger there!

Lord Minamoto no Yorimasa, Former Director of the Bureau of Military Storehouses
10

The Left seems a bit cliched, yet it’s not bad. As for the Right, the image of having dug up all the flowers is unsatisfying, yet it’s not worth drawing attention to when the whole sentiment is so charming, and thus the Right should win.

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 01

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Round One

Blossom and Grasses

Left (Tie)　　　

色とこそ萩が花ずりおもひしか香さへ袂にうつりぬるかな

iro to koso
hagi ga hanazuri
omoishika
ka sae tamoto ni
utsurinuru kana		With hues, indeed,
Are the bush-clover blooms dyed
Did I think, but
Even the scent to my sleeves
Has shifted!

Lord Fujiwara no Shige’ie, Minister of Justice
1

Right

あきの野にいづれともなき花なれどまねく薄ぞ先めにはたつ

aki no no ni
izure to mo naki
hana naredo
maneku susuki zo
saki me ni wa tatsu		In the autumn meadows
All equally fine
Are the flowers, yet
It is the beckoning silver grass that
First catches the eye!

Former Minor Counsellor Fujiwara no Suketaka
2

On perusing the poems of Left and Right, it is not the case that neither has any elements lacking feeling. With that being said, the initial section of the Left’s poem and the final section of the right are not laudable, so after some little thought and being confused by the Left and the Right, reluctantly, I have decided to make this a tie.

Man'yōshū

MYS X: 2271

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On blossom

草深三　蟋多　鳴屋前　芽子見公者　何時来益牟

くさふかみ　こほろぎさはに　なくやどの　はぎみにきみは　いつかきまさむ

kusa pukami
koporogi sapa ni
naku yado no
pagi mi ni kimi pa
ituka kimasamu		Deep within the grasses
So noisily the crickets
Cry around your house—
You gaze upon the bush clover, sir, but
When might you visit me?

Anonymous

Man'yōshū

MYS X: 2182

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比日之　暁露丹　吾屋前之　芽子乃下葉者　色付尓家里

このころのあかときつゆにわがやどのはぎのしたばはいろづきにけり

kono koro no
akatoki tuyu ni
wa ga yado no
pagi no sitaba pa
irodukinikeri		Around thus time near
Dawn, the dewfall on
My dwelling’s
Bush clover underleaves
Has changed their hue!

Anonymous

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text
Created with Soan.
Hon'in sadaijin-ke uta'awase

Hon’in sadaijin-ke uta’awase 06

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Bush clover

Left

しかのこゑたかさごやまのはぎなればをりてこしよりねをやなくらん

shika no koe
takasagoyama no
hagi nareba
oritekoshi yori
ne o ya nakuran		A stag’s cry
On Takasago Mountain, where
Lies bush clover:
Might someone have come and picked her
That he lets out such cries?

11

Right

あきはぎの花のながるるかはのせにしがらみかくるしかのねもせぬ

akihagi no
hana no nagaruru
kawa no se ni
shigarami kakuru
shika no ne mo senu		Autumn bush clover
Blooms flow down
The river rapids and
Hang upon the lattice weir, and
The stag cries not at all…

12

Kokinshū

KKS VIII: 397

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One day, he was summoned to the Thunder Pavilion to take wine with His Majesty; rain was falling fiercely as evening drew on and when he rose to take his leave, he took his wine-cup and…

秋はぎの花をば雨にぬらせども君をばましてをしとこそおもへ

aki Fagi no
Fana woba ame ni
nurasedomo
kimi woba masite
osi to koso omoFe		The autumn bush clover’s
Blooms by the raindrops
Have been soaked, yet,
My lord, far more
Do I regret leaving you.

Tsurayuki
Sahyōe no suke sadafumi uta'awase

Sahyōe no suke sadafumi uta’awase 7

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The Middle of Autumn

Left (Tie)

くもゐよりてりやまさるときよたきのそこにてもみむあきのつきかげ

kumoi yori
teri ya masaru to
kiyotaki no
soko nite mo mimu
aki no tsukikage		From the clouds
Does it shine most bright?
On Kiyotaki’s
Riverbed I see
Autumn moonlight.

13

Right

人しれぬねをやなくらんあきはぎのはなさくまでにしかのこゑせぬ

hito shirenu
ne o ya nakuran
aki hagi no
hana saku made ni
shika no koe senu		That no one may know
Quietly, does he cry?
Until the autumn bush clover
Blooms flower
The stag’s bell stays silent.

Mitsune
14