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!
[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’.
inishie no kamiyo no kage zo nokorikeru ama no iwato no akegata no tsuki
The bygone Age of Gods’ light Lingers in The Heavens’ stone door Opening, for the moon at dawn.[i]
618
[i] See: On the conception of the moon at dawn, for the Kasuga Poetry Match. 天の戸をおしあけがたの雲間より神よの月の影ぞ残れる ama no to o / oshi akegata no / kumoma yori / kamiyo no tsuki no / kage zo nokoreru ‘Upon the gates of Heaven / Pushing brightening / Through the cloud-gaps / From the Age of Gods, the moon’s / Light lingers.’ The Regent and Chancellor (Shinkokinshū XVI: 1547)
When Dharma Master Sosen (he known as Taneyuki at the time) had gone to Shimōsa, I sent this to him in the Eleventh Month, Kenpō 6 [1218] to say he should return.
恋しともおもはでいはば久かたのあまてる神も空にしるらん
koishi to mo omowade iwaba hisakata no ama teru kami mo sora ni shiruran
That I long for you, Should I not think, but say, The eternal Deity shining in the Heavens, Would know it in the skies.[i]
617
[i] See: Composed on the conception of felicitation for the poetry match held at the residence of His Excellency, Saneyuki. みづがきのひさしかるべき君が代をあまてる神やそらにしるらん mizugaki no / hisashikarubeki / kimi ga yo o / ama teru kami ya / sora ni shiruran ‘As sacred precincts, / Eternal shall be / My Lord’s reign, as / Shining in the Heavens the deity / In the skies must know!’ Fujiwara no Tametada (Kin’yōshū V: 328)
Around autumn, when someone with whom I had been accustomed to speaking had gone somewhere, I took the opportunity to send these by messenger.
うはの空にみし面影をおもひいでて月になれにし秋ぞ恋しき
uwa no sora ni mishi omokage o omoi’idete tsuki ni narenishi aki zo koishiki
In the heavens’ heights The face that once I saw I do recall, and Accustomed to the moon In autumn do I yearn even more…[i]
609
[i] See: On the conception of ‘love, having once met, but no longer’ for the Poetry Match held at the Poetry Office. ゆめかとよみし面影もちぎりしもわすれずながらうつつならねば yume ka to yo / mishi omokage mo / chigiri shi mo / wasurezu nagara / utsutsu naraneba ‘Was it a dream? Or not? / That face I saw, and / His promises, too, / I cannot forget, / Though real they were not…’ The Daughter of Toshinari, Assistant Master of the Dowager Empress Household Office (Shinkokinshū XV: 1391)
I sent this to the residence of someone, who had gone to a distant province, when they had said they’d return around the Eighth Month and there had been no sign of them by the Ninth.
こむとしもたのめぬうはの空にだに秋風ふけばかりはきにけり
komu to shimo tanomenu uwa no sora ni dani akikaze fukeba kari wa kinikeri
That they would come, even I Do not expect of the heights of The heavens, but When the autumn wind has blown, The geese have arrived.[i]
605
[i] See: Love carried on the wind. きくやいかにうはのそらなる風だにもまつにおとするならひありとは kiku ya ika ni / uwa no sora naru / kaze dani mo / matsu ni otosuru / narai ari to wa ‘Do you hear it? Well? / From the heavens’ heights / Even the wind, / To come whispering among the pines / Has grown accustomed.’ Kunaikyō (Shinkokinshū XIII: 1199); and: A poem from the poetry competition at Prince Koresada’s house. 秋風にはつかりがねぞきこゆなるたがたまづさをかけてきつらむ akikaze ni / hatsukari ga ne zo / kikoyunaru / ta ga tamazusa o / kaketekitsuran ‘On the autumn wind / Come the first goose cries. / I hear them; / Whose letters / Do they bring, I wonder?’ Ki no Tomonori (Kokinshū IV: 207)
kimi ga yo wa kami ni zo inoru suminoe no matsu no chitose o yuzure to omoeba
My Lord’s reign: To the gods I pray, that Suminoe’s Pines their thousand years Pass on—that is my hope…
Retired from the World 61a
きみがへむやちよのかずはあめにますとよをかひめの神やしるらん
kimi ga hemu yachiyo no kazu wa ame ni masu toyo’okahime no kami ya shiruran
That my Lord will endure The number of eight thousand ages— Residing in the heavens, The Goddess of the Eternal Hills, The deity, knows well, no doubt!
Retired from the World 61b
Right (Win)
君がよはつきじとぞおもふ春の日の御笠の山にささむかぎりは
kimi ga yo wa tsukiji to zo omou haru no hi no mikasa no yama ni sasamu kagiri wa
My Lord’s reign Will never fade, I feel! While in spring the sun Upon Mikasa Mountain Shines down…
Senior Assistant Minister Past Lecturer 62
Both Left and Right have neither strengths nor weakness in their diction and sense, but I feel that ‘While in spring the sun / Upon Mikasa Mountain / Shines down’ is a bit more dependable at present than ‘Suminoe’s / Pines their thousand years’.
It is certainly not the case that there are no dubious elements about the Left’s poem. As ‘eight thousand ages’ is a definite number, what is it that the Goddess of the Eternal Hills is expected to know? If this is something in the deity’s hands, then it should be, ‘does not even know the number’. I’m sure the Goddess herself would ask what she’s expected to know. The Right seems stronger.
[i] There are different poems by Eien this round in different versions of the text of the contest. As can be inferred from the judgements, Mototoshi saw the first poem and Toshiyori the second. This strongly suggests that Mototoshi’s judgements were circulated before the text of the contest was submitted to Toshiyori, and Eien revised his poem this round as a result (Kubota et al. 2018, 308).
