akigiri no taema ni miyuru momijiba ya tachinokoshitaru nishiki naruran
The autumn mists have Gaps revealing Scarlet leaves— Remaining offcuts of Brocade, perhaps?
Lord Tsunemori 75
Right
もみぢちる立田の山はえぞこえぬ錦をふまむ道をしらねば
momiji chiru tatsuta no yama wa e zo koenu nishiki o fumamu michi o shiraneba
Scattered with scarlet leaves Tatsuta Mountain I cannot cross, for To tread upon a brocade Path I know not how…
Lord Yorimasa 76
The Right is a poem on fallen leaves and blossom—something about which many people have composed in the recent past and modern times, too. The Left sounds as if it truly depicts things as they are. Its overall construction is lovely, too, so it should win.
yamahime ya kite furusato e kaeruran nishiki to miyuru koromode no mori
Does the mountain princess Wear it, when to her ancient home Returning? As brocade does seem The sacred grove at Koromode…
Lord Shige’ie
73
Right
色色の木木のにしきを立田川ひとつはたにもおりながすかな
iroiro no kigi no nishiki o tatsutagawa hitotsu hata ni mo orinagasu kana
Many hued is The trees brocade that The Tatsuta River’s Loom into one Does weave and float along!
Shun’e 74
The Left’s ‘mountain princess’ is normally used, but where is the ‘ancient estate’? As for the Right, when the trees’ brocade is scattered, only then, indeed, can it be woven and made to flow along by a river. A long time ago there was a poem composed which, indeed, began, ‘The scarlet leaves in such confusion / Drift’ and then continued, ‘Were I to ford across, this brocade / Would be split in two, I’d say…’[1] Furthermore, what are we to make of ‘Tatsuta River’s / Loom into one’? There should be reference to a location which has some connection with looms, but to simply shoehorn in ‘Tatsuta River’s / Loom into one’ smacks of pleasing oneself. There is the earlier poem ‘Without a loom / Are brocade’,[2] too. The way in which this poem is constructed is charming, but these features are difficult to ignore, so thus the Left should win, I think.
[1] The poem is Kokinshū V: 283, with the headnote, ‘Topic unknown’. It is officially anonymous, but is accompanied by an endnote stating ‘It is said by some that this poem was composed by the Nara Emperor.’
[2] Topic unknown. から衣たつたの山のもみぢばははた物もなき錦なりけり karakoromo / Tatsuta no yama no / momijiba wa / hatamono mo naki / nishiki narikeri ‘A Cathay robe— / Tatsuta Mountain’s / Scarlet leaves, / Without a loom / Are brocade.’ Anonymous (GSS VII: 386)
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.
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.
