Her reply.
うゑたてて君がしめゆふ花なれば玉と見えてやつゆもおくらん
| uwetatete kimi ga simeyuFu Fana nareba tama to miete ya tuyu mo okuran | Planted and grown Carefully by you, my Lord, Are these flowers, so Seeming as jewels, perhaps, The dew has fallen? |
Ise
Tag Archives: hana
Sen’yōden no nyōgo nadeshiko awase 04
This is a poem which was written on a poetry slip and attached to the diorama when it was presented to the young prince,[i] on the day following the match.
なでしこのはなさきそむる夏の野にけふひぐらしのこゑかきこゆる
| nadeshiko no hana sakisomuru natsu no no ni kyō higurashi no koe ka kikoyuru | The pinks In bloom have begun to be On the summer plains From today the sunset crickets’ Cries do I hear? |
7[ii]
In reply from His Highness, the prince.[iii]
ひぐらしのなくもことわりなでしこのかひあるなつの野べとみゆれば
| higurashi no naku mo kotowari nadeshiko no kai aru natsu no nobe to miyureba | That the sunset crickets Should cry makes sense, for The pinks bring A point to the summer Meadows, or so it seems to me… |
8
A further reply from within the Hall of Cool Purity.
みやぎのにけふさきそむるなでしこはならはぬいろに人やみるらむ
| miyagino ni kyō sakisomuru nadeshiko wa narawanu iro ni hito ya miruramu | On Miyagi Plain Today has begun to bloom A pink— Its extraordinary hue I wonder, will folk see? |
9[iv]
[i] A reference to Imperial Prince Norihira 憲平, the future Emperor Reizei 冷泉 (950-1011; r. 967-969).
[ii] Anonymous (Fubokushō IX: 3461); (Nakatsukasa-shū 120)
[iii] Given that Norihira would have been only six years old when this match was held, it is most likely that this reply was penned in his stead by his mother, Fujiwara no Yasuko (Anshi) 藤原安子 (927-964).
[iv] This poem is included in Fubokushō (IX: 3469) attributed to the ‘Seiryōden Junior Consort’ (Seiryōden nyōgo 清涼殿女御), with the headnote ‘Poetry Match held by Junior Consort Yoshiko (Hōshi) in the Fifth Month, Tenryaku 10’. It is now generally believed that the Fubokushō attribution is erroneous, and this was, instead, composed by Emperor Murakami.
Sen’yōden no nyōgo nadeshiko awase 03
Left
たづのすむはまべににほふとこなつはいとどのどけきかげぞみえける
| tazu no sumu hamabe ni niou tokonatsu wa itodo nodokeki kage zo miekeru | Cranes dwell On the beach where ever glow The pinks— How tranquil it is To see their shapes! |
5[i]
Right (Win)
やまがつのかきほながらにうつしうゑていつとなくみむとこなつのはな
| yamagatsu no kakio nagara ni utsushi uete itsu to naku mimu tokonatsu no hana | Even by a woodcutter’s Brushwood fence Should they be transplanted Always would I gaze upon Bedded pinks in bloom… |
6
[i] This poem is included in Fubokushō (IX: 3460), attributed to Nakatsukasa, with the headnote ‘Poetry Match held by Junior Consort Yoshiko (Hōshi) in the Fifth Month, Tenryaku 10’. In some texts of the match, there is a minor variation in the wording of the final line, having iro (‘hues’), instead of kage (‘shapes’) as here.
Sen’yōden no nyōgo nadeshiko awase 02
Left
あしひきのやまとなでしこいろふかきけふやこふてふひとをまたまし
| ashihiki no yamato nadeshiko iro fukaki kyō ya kou chō hito o matamashi | Leg-wearying the Mountains of Yamato, the pinks’ Hues so deep, that I wonder for today and one to love them Have they awaited? |
Nakatsukasa
3[i]
Right (Tie)
みなそこにかげさへにほふなでしこはなみのはなをやいろにそむらむ
| minasoko ni kage sae niou nadeshiko ha nami no hana o ya iro ni somuramu | The very riverbed With their shapes does glow— Do the pinks Even the spray from off the waves Dye with their hues, I wonder? |
4[ii]
[i] A similar poem to this is included in Nakatsukasa’s personal collection, Nakatsukasa-shū (118): かきほなるやまとなでしこいろふかきけふやこふこふ人をまたまし kakio naru / yamato nadeshiko / iro fukaki / kyō ya kou / hito o matamashi ‘By the lattice fence / The Yamato pinks’ / Hues are so deep, that / I wonder for today and one to love them / Have they awaited?’
[ii] Some texts of this match have an alternate wording for this poem: みなそこにかげさへみゆるなでしこのなみのはなをやいろにそむらむ minasoko ni / kage sae miyuru / nadeshiko no / nami no hana o ya / iro ni somuramu ‘Upon the very riverbed / Their shapes do appear— / Do the pinks / Even the spray from off the waves / Dye with their hues, I wonder?’
Sen’yōden no nyōgo nadeshiko awase 01
Poems from a pinks match held by the ladies and gentlemen in service to the Lady of the Bedchamber who was the daughter of the Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division, on the 29th day of the Fifth Month, Tenryaku 10.[i] Lady Nakatsukasa was on the Left; Kanemori was on the Right.
Left
なでしこのはなのかげみるかはなみはいづれのかたにこころよすらん
| nadeshiko no hana no kage miru kawanami wa izure no kata ni kokoro yosuran | A pink’s Blooming shape a’seeing, The waves upon the river Whither will Take her heart, I wonder? |
Nakatsukasa
1[ii]
Right
ももしきにしめゆひそむるなでしこのはなとしみればこさぞまされる
| momoshiki ni shimeyuisomuru nadeshiko no hana to shi mireba kosa zo masareru | When, within the hundredfold palace So carefully being raised A pink In bloom I see, It’s depth of hue is fine, indeed! |
Kanemori
2[iii]
[i] 9 July 956
[ii] Nakatsukasa-shū 119)
[iii] Some texts of this match have an alternate wording for this poem: ももしきにしめゆひしよりなでしこのはなとしみればこく見ゆるかな momoshiki ni / shimeyuishi yori / nadeshiko no / hana to shi mireba / koku miyuru kana ‘When, within the hundredfold palace / So carefully raised / A pink / In bloom I see, / How deep its hue appears!’
Reikeiden no nyōgo uta’awase 10
Wisteria Blossom
Left (Win)
おそくさくふぢのはなゆゑいつしかとわれさへまつにかかりぬるかな
| osoku saku fuji no hana yue itsushika to ware sae matsu ni kakarinuru kana | Late to bloom are The wisteria flowers, so Eagerly Have I awaited for them to Have dangled down! |
19[i]
Right
ちることもうつるもしらじのどかなるまつにかかれるむらさきのふぢ
| chiru koto mo utsuru mo shiraji nodoka naru matsu ni kakareru murasaki no fuji | That t’will scatter and Fade, both, unknowing, Gently From the pines hanging is The violet wisteria… |
20
[i] Also included in Saigū nyōgo kishi joō uta’awase (19).
Reikeiden no nyōgo uta’awase 05
Spring Showers
Left (Win)
をやみなくふらばふらなむはるさめはのにもやまにもはなのさくまで
| oyaminaku furuba furanamu harusame wa no ni mo yama ni mo hana no saku made | If endlessly They are to fall, then let them! Spring showers Upon the plains and mountains, both, Until the blossoms bloom… |
9
Right
はるさめのふりそめしよりのもやまもあさみどりにぞみえわたりける
| harusame no furisomeshi yori no mo yama mo asamidori ni zo miewatarikeru | Since spring showers Began to fall Upon both plains and mountains Pale green has Appeared all over! |
10
Reikeiden no nyōgo uta’awase 03
Plum Blossom
Left
わがやどにふきくるかぜのにほへるはかきねのむめのはなやちるらむ
| wa ga yado ni fukikuru kaze no nioeru wa kakine no mume no hana ya chiruramu | To my house The breeze comes blowing With the scent of The plum by my brushwood fence— Maybe the blossoms are scattering? |
5[i]
Right (Win)
をしむとてをりしばかりをむめのはなそでににほひのたえずまるかな
| oshimu tote orishi bakari o mume no hana sode ni nioi no taezumaru kana | How dear to me, I think, are, Just plucked, These plum blossoms, for Their scent upon my sleeves Will ever cling! |
6
[i] This poem is included in Shoku kokinshū (I: 66), attributed to Kanemori, with the headnote ‘A poem from the Poetry Match held by the Reikeiden Junior Consort’.
SIS XVI: 1063
While he was residing at Mount Hiei, and someone asked him for some incense, he sent this, attached to a branch of plum from which the blossom had scattered.
春すぎてちりはてにける梅の花ただかばかりぞ枝にのこれる
| Faru sugite tiriFatekeru mume no Fana tada ka bakari zo eda ni nokoreru | Spring is gone and All scattered are The plum blossoms: Only their fragrance Lingers on the branch! |
Dharma Master Jogan
Aru tokoro no kōbai awase
The only surviving poem from this match[i] occurs in the personal collection of Fujiwara no Takamitsu 藤原高光 (939-?), Takamitsu-shū (11), with the headnote, ‘From a scarlet plum blossom match.’
うぐひすのすをくひそむるむめの花いろもにほひもをしくも有るかな
| uguisu no su o kuisomuru mume no hana iro mo nioi mo oshiku mo aru kana | The warbler has His nest begun to weave Among the plum blossom; Their hues and glow, both, How he must regret! |
1
While scarlet plum (kōbai 紅梅) is used as a topic for acrostics in Uda’in uta’awase (905), there are no other examples of it being used in any other poetry match, nor are there any other examples of ‘scarlet plum matches’ (kōbai awase 紅梅合) recorded. Given what we know of the details of Takamitsu’s life and career (see below), Hagitani (1958, 419) suggests that it is most likely that this was a private event for Takamitsu’s intimate circle, held in late 960 or early 961.
Takamitsu was the eighth son of Fujiwara no Morosuke 藤原師輔 (909-960) and was appointed to the position of Minor Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division (Ukonoe shōshō 右近衛少将) in 960; he is also listed among the participants in the Dairi uta’awase – Tentoku yo-nen. In 961, however, he took orders under the name of Jokaku 如覚, settling in Tōnomine 多武峰 in what is now Nara prefecture the following year.[ii] The poems he exchanged here with his wife and sister formed the basis for Tōnomine shōshō monogatari 多武峯少将物語 (‘Tale of the Minor Captain in Tōnomine’), a short work thought to be produced a few years afterwards. Despite his limited poetic oeuvre, Fujiwara no Kintō regarded him sufficiently highly to include him as one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, although perhaps this is unsurprising as Takamitsu’s daughter was the mother of Kintō’s wife; he has a total of twenty-three poems in imperial anthologies, including four in Shūishū, under both his lay and religious names.[iii]
[i] Aru tokoro no kōbai awase 或所紅梅合
[ii] Eiga monogatari relates the events surrounding Takamitsu’s taking orders, remarking, ‘Someone is sure to mention Takamitsu whenever people speak of sad things’ (McCullough and McCullough 1980, 92)
[iii] The poems are: Rhododendron [sakunamusa]. 紫の色にはさくなむさしのの草のゆかりと人もこそ見れ murasaki no / iro ni wa saku na / musashino no / kusa no yukari to / hito mo koso mire ‘In violet hues / It must bloom not— / Lest on Musashi Plain / With the grasses a bond / Folk, too, imagine!’ Dharma Master Jogan (VII: 360); When gazing at the moon, around the time he got the idea to become a monk. かくばかりへがたく見ゆる世の中にうら山しくもすめる月かな kaku bakari / hegataku miyuru / yo no naka ni / urayamashiku mo / sumeru tsuki kana ‘When so very / Hard it seems to pass through / This mundane world / Indeed, I envy / The moon, dwelling there, so clear!’ Fujiwara no Takamitsu (VIII: 435); While he was residing at Mount Hiei, and someone asked him for some incense, he sent this, attached to a branch of plum from which the blossom had scattered. 春すぎてちりはてにける梅の花ただかばかりぞ枝にのこれる haru sugite / chirihatekeru / mume no hana / tada ka bakari zo / eda ni nokoreru ‘Spring is gone and / All scattered are / The plum blossoms: / Only their fragrance / Lingers on the branch!’ Dharma Master Jogan (XVI: 1063); and: Written down on a pieice of folded paper when the snow was falling, around when he was deciding to become a monk. 世の中にふるぞはかなき白雪のかつはきえぬる物としるしる yo no naka ni / furu zo hakanaki / shirayuki no / katsu wa kienu / mono to shirushiru ‘Through this mundane world / Fleetingly falling / The snow, so white, / Is swift to vanish— / That I know only too well…’ Fujiwara no Takamitsu (XX: 1332)