The Middle of Autumn
Left
大空の道みえぬまでふる霧は秋のなかばにとめむとかもし
| ōzora no michi mienu made furu kiri wa aki no nakaba ni tomemu to kamo shi | Until all the endless sky Ways unseen are Descend the mists In the heart of autumn— Will they stay a while, I wonder? |
15
Right
女郎花おほくの秋にあふものをからくもあだにおもひけるかな
| ominaeshi ōku no aki ni au mono o karaku mo ada ni omoikeru kana | Maidenflowers Many in autumn Does one meet, but Bitterly, faithless Do I feel they are! |
16
Round Four
Left
行人を野べの尾花にまねかせて色めきたてる女郎花かな
| yuku hito o nobe no obana ni manekasete iromeki tateru ominaeshi kana | Folk going by The meadows the silver grass Is made to beckon by The seductively standing Maidenflowers! |
Lord Fujiwara no Suetsune, Former Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs
7
Right (Win)
吹くをりぞ過ぐる人をばまねきけるかぜや尾花の心なるらん
| fuku ori zo suguru hito oba manekikeru kaze ya obana no kokoro naruran | When it blows, Folk passing by Are beckoned— Does the wind the silver grasses’ Heart become? |
Minor Controller of the Left Fujiwara no Tamechika
8
The Left appears to have nothing remarkable about it, while the Right’s initial three sections sound clumsy, yet appear to have some degree of conception, so I would say it wins.
Round Three
Left
女郎花露もわきてやおきつらんしほれ姿のあてにも有るかな
| ominaeshi tsuyu mo wakite ya okitsuran shioresugata no ate ni mo aru kana | Upon the maidenflowers Might the dew discriminate In its falling? For its dampened form Is so fine! |
Lord Minamoto no Michiyoshi, Minor Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division
5
Right (Win)
もも草の花もあだにやおもふらんひと色ならずうつす心を
| momokusa no hana mo ada ni ya omouran hito iro narazu utsusu kokoro o | A multitude of grasses Blooms: do they play me false Should I think? For not to one hue alone Is my heart drawn… |
Kojijū, Court Lady to Her Majesty
6
The Left, by saying ‘Might the dew discriminate / In its falling?’ seems to want to describe the way that the flowers’ colours become deeper or fainter. It is not appropriate, however, to use ‘dampened form’ in this way. Furthermore, saying something ‘seems fine’ lacks elegance, doesn’t it. The Right does not lack the conception of the topic, so it should win.
Left
あきごとにさかずはあらねど女郎花散りゆくことはをしくぞありける
| aki goto ni sakazu wa aranedo ominaeshi chiriyuku koto wa oshiku zo arikeru | Every single autumn, It’s not that you bloom not, yet O, maidenflowers, That you scatter away I regret, indeed! |
11
Right
めにみえてわかるる秋ををしまめやおほぞらのみぞながめらるらん
| me ni miete wakaruru aki o oshimame ya ōzora nomi zo nagameraruran | Before my eyes Autumn is departing— Should I regret it, or Simply to the heavens, alone, Ever turn my gaze? |
12
Maidenflowers
Left
なびくとや人はみるらんをみなへしおもふかたにぞかぜもふきける
| nabiku to ya hito wa miruran ominaeshi omou kata ni zo kaze mo fukikeru | ‘Are they trailing?’ Folk wonder at the sight of The maidenflowers, and As they thought The wind, too, was blowing… |
7
Right
おほかたののべなるよりはをみなへしねやのつまにてみるはまされり
| ōkata no nobe naru yori wa ominaeshi neya no tsuma nite miru wa masareri | So wide are The plains, but I’d rather A maidenflower— My wife in the bedchamber: Seeing her is better far! |
8
A question and response poem.
物不念 道行去毛 青山乎 振放見者 茵花 香未通女 桜花 盛未通女 汝乎曽母 吾丹依云 吾 毛曽 汝丹依云 荒山毛 人師依者 余所 留跡序云 汝心勤
物思はず 道行く行くも 青山を 振り放け見れば つつじ花 にほえ娘子 桜花 栄え娘子 汝れをぞも 我れに寄すといふ 我れをもぞ 汝れに寄すといふ 荒山も 人し寄すれば 寄そるとぞいふ 汝が心ゆめ
| mono’omowazu michi yukuyuku mo aoyama o furisakemireba tsutsujibana nioe otome sakurabana hae otome nare o somo ware ni yosu to iu ware o mo nare ni yosu to iu arayama mo hito shi yosureba yosuru to zo iu na ga kokoroyume | Unburdened by gloomy thoughts Along the path I went on and on, To the green-growing mountain, When in the distance I saw An azalea Fair bright maiden, A cherry blossom Glorious maiden: O, you, truly Give your heart to me; And I, too, Will give my heart to you; Upon the wild mountain Folk give their hearts To one another, so Never will I abandon you! |
やをとめのそでかとぞみるをみなへしきみをいはひてなではじめてき
| yaotome no sode ka to zo miru ominaeshi kimi o iwaite nadehajimeteki | As eight sacred maidens’ Sleeves do they appear, The maidenflowers, Celebrating our Lord’s reign With a first gentle touch. |
49
うゑながらかつはたのまずをみなへしうつろふあきのほどしなければ
| uenagara katsu wa tanomazu ominaeshi utsurou aki no hodo shi nakereba | I planted them, yet Still unreliable are The maidenflowers, for They fade and autumn Is nothing but brief… |
50
をみなへしやまののくさとふりしかどさかゆくときもありけるものを
| ominaeshi yamano no kusa to furishikado sakayuku toki mo arikeru mono o | The maidenflowers With the mountain meadow grasses Have grown old, yet A time to flourish Did they have once… |
45[1]
をみなへしさけるやまべのあきかぜはふくゆふかげをたれかかたらむ
| ominaeshi sakeru yamabe no akikaze wa fuku yūkage o tare ka kataramu | A maidenflower Blooming in a mountain meadow, with The autumn wind’s Evening gusts revealed, but Who is there to tell the tale? |
46
[1] This poem is almost identical to poem 4 in Uda-in ominaeshi uta’awase.
Left Final Round
をみなへしこのあきまでぞまさるべきつゆをもぬきてたまにまどはせ
| ominaeshi kono aki made zo masarubeki tsuyu o mo nukite tama ni madowase | The maidenflowers This autumn Have been fine, indeed— Strung with dewdrops As pearls let you be! |
His Majesty
21[1]
Right
きみによりのべをはなれしをみなへしおなじこころにあきをとどめよ
| kimi ni yori nobe o hanareshi ominaeshi onaji kokoro ni aki o todomeyo | For My Lord Have you left your meadows, O, maidenflower, Wishing as we, Autumn—hold here! |
Her Majesty, the Empress
22[2]
The flowers of the Right were inferior, but the poems of the Right won.
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 528
[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 548