Round Twenty
Scarlet Leaves
Left (Tie)
秋されば暁つゆにいもが袖まきぎの山ににほふもみぢば
aki sareba akatsuki tsuyu ni imo ga sode makigi no yama ni niou momijiba When the autumn comes,
Masashige
Right
下染はおなじみどりにみし程も紅葉の色のうすくこきかな
shitazome wa onaji midori ni mishi hodo mo momiji no iro no usuku koki kana First dyed
Kūnin
The Left has a lofty tone, yet the Right is still smooth. Thus, I make this a tie.
玉くしげはこねのやまの郭公むかふのさとに朝な朝ななく
tamakushige hakone no yama no hototogisu mukau no sato ni asana asana naku A jewelled comb [i]
[ii] This poem is inspired by: 心乎之 無何有乃郷尓 置而有者 藐孤射能山乎 見末久知香谿務 kokoro oshi / mukau no sato ni / okite araba / bakoya no yama o / mimaku chikakemu ‘My heart / In paradise / Should I leave behind, then / Mount Miaogushe / Would I soon come to see.’ Anonymous (MYS XVI: 3851 ). The Man’yō poem refers to Mount Bakoya (C. Miaogushe), a legendary Chinese mountain where immortals were said to dwell, and Sanetomo’s reference to Hakone echoes this due to the partial homophony between the place names.
かづらきやたかまのやまの時鳥雲ゐのよそに鳴きわたるなり
kazuragi ya takama no yama no hototogisu kumoi no yoso ni nakiwataru nari In Kazuragi
有明の月は入りぬる木の間よりやまほととぎすなきていづなり
ariake no tsuki wa irinuru ko no ma yori yamahototogisu nakite’izu nari At the dawn
あし曳のやまほととぎすみ山いでてよぶかき月のかげになくなり
ashihiki no yama hototogisu miyama idete yobukaki tsuki no kage ni naku nari Leg-wearying
From among my cuckoo poems.
足曳の山ほととぎすこがくれてめにこそみえね音のさやけき
ashihiki no yama hototogisu kogakurete me ni koso miene ne no sayakeki Leg-wearying,
夏ごろもたちし時よりあし曳の山ほととぎすなかぬ日ぞなき
natsugoromo tachishi toki yori ashihiki no yama hototogisu nakanu hi zo naki My summer garb
はつこゑを聞くとはなしに今日も又山ほととぎすまたずしもあらず
hatsukoe o kiku to wa nashi ni kyō mo mata yama hototogisu matazu shimo arazu That first call
On the beginning of summer.
夏ごろもたつたのやまのほととぎすいつしかなかん声をきかばや
natsugoromo tatsuta no yama no hototogisu itsu shika nakan koe o kikaba ya As a summer robe
Round Seven
Cherry
Left (Win)
からくにの虎伏すのべににほふとも花の下にはねてぞ帰らん
karakuni no tora fusu nobe ni niou tomo hana no shita ni wa nete zo kaeran Even in the land of Cathay, where
Lord Kiyosuke
Right
わぎもこがはこねの山のいと桜むすびおきたる花かとぞみる
wagimoko ga hakone no yama no itozakura musubiokitaru hana ka to zo miru As my darling’s treasured
Kenshō
14
Neither of these are bad, but because for the moment it has a stronger conception of affection for the blossom, the Left is superior.
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