Left — Maidenflowers
うつろへるところありともをみなへしのべのふるさとわすれざらなむ
| utsuroeru tokoro ari tomo ominaeshi nobe no furusato wasurezaranamu | Faded Spots they have, yet, Maidenflowers At an old estate among the fields Never will I forget! |
7
Right
あきののにあだなのみたつをみなへし花さかぬまはしる人ぞなき
| aki no no ni adana nomi tatsu ominaeshi hana sakanu ma wa shiru hito zo naki | In the autumn plains Faithless rumours, alone, arise Of my maidenflower— But while she is not in bloom, There’s no one knows, at all! |
8
Maidenflowers
Left
あきかぜはふかずもあらなむをみなへししるもしらぬもおもふこころは
| akikaze wa fukazu mo aranamu ominaeshi shiru mo shiranu mo omou kokoro wa | Even should the autumn breeze Fail to blow, O, maidenflower, still Those who know you and know you not, Would hold you in their hearts… |
Taira no Yasū
5
Right (Win)
をみなへしおひたるのべにふきかかるあきののかぜにみをやそへまし
| ominaeshi oitaru nobe ni fukikakaru aki no nokaze ni mi o ya soemashi | Maidenflowers Growing in the meadows Brushed by the blowing Autumn wind o’er the fields— O, how I wish it trailed over me, too… |
Tomo no Tadanori
(or in some texts Toshizane)
6
Round Seven
Left (Win)
萩がはな分けゆく程は古郷へかへらぬ人もにしきをぞきる
| 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.
Round Six
Left (Tie)
むつごともいはまほしきを女郎花くちなし色のつらくもあるかな
| mutsugoto mo iwamahoshiki o ominaeshi kuchinashi iro no tsuraku mo aru kana | A lover’s whisper is What I wish you’d say to me, O, maidenflower, but Your silent yellow hue Is cruel, indeed! |
Minamoto no Moromitsu, Supernumerary Master of the Right Capital Office
11
Right
女郎花はなの心はしらねども名をきくにこそをらまほしけれ
| ominaeshi hana no kokoro wa shiranedomo na o kiku ni koso oramahoshikere | O, maidenflower, A flower’s heart, I cannot know, yet Simply on hearing your name, How I wish to pick you! |
Hōribe no Narinaka, Hiyoshi Shrine Priest
12
The Left is charming. However, would a flower which is not ‘silent yellow’ be saying something? It’s more common to say that flowers say nothing. Even so, this is not a profound fault, so it’s better to evaluate this poem as charming. The Right is elegantly composed—saying ‘simply on hearing your name’, just sounds skillful, so it’s impossible for me to state a winner or loser this round.
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.
Round Two
Left (Win)
花すすき誰ともわかずまねくにも心をとむる我やなになり
| hanasusuki tare tomo wakazu maneku ni mo kokoro o tomuru wa ya nani nari | The silver grass fronds Care not who They beckon, yet Entranced What am I to them them? |
Lord Taira no Tsunemori, Assistant Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household
3
Right
あだにおく夜のまの露にむすぼほれて思ひしほるる女郎花かな
| ada ni oku yo no ma no tsuyu ni musubōrete omoishioruru ominaeshi kana | Faithlessly falling In the night, the dewdrops Have drenched The dejected Maidenflower! |
Former Minor Captain, Lord Fujiwara no Kinshige
4
This round the poems, again, are equal in quality, but the Right’s use of ‘dejected’ as a piece of diction is vague, and in the absence of a prior example of usage, the Left should win.
Left
くれぬべきあきををしめばをぐら山みねのもみぢもいろづきにけり
| kurenubeki aki o oshimeba ogurayama mine no momiji mo irozukinikeri | Pass into dusk must Autumn, so I regret when On Ogura Mountain The scarlet leaves on the peak Have taken on deeper hues! |
33
Right
をしめども秋はとまらず女郎花野べにおくれてかれぬばかりを
| oshimedomo aki wa tomarazu ominaeshi nobe ni okurete karenu bakari o | I regret it, yet Autumn will not linger; O, maidenflower, Within the meadows tarry and Simply do not wither away… |
34
