Tag Archives: scarlet leaves

Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 11

Original

もみぢばはきりのたつにもちりけるをかぜをかたなとおもひけるかな

momijiba wa
kiri no tatsu ni mo
chirikeru o
kaze o katana to
omoikeru kana
The scarlet leaves with
The rising mists
Do scatter—
The wind a sword
Truly does seem!

30

Left

もみぢばはあきのかぜこそさそひけれきりのなきなをたつぞあやしき

momijiba wa
aki no kaze koso
sasoikere
kiri no nakina o
tatsu zo ayashiki
The scarlet leaves
By the winds of autumn, truly,
Are invited;
That baseless rumours of the mists
Arise is strange, indeed!

31

Right

からにしきかぜのたつらんもみぢばはきりのたつにもおくれざりけり

karanishiki
kaze no tatsuran
momijiba wa
kiri no tatsu ni mo
okurezarikeri
Cathay brocade
The rising wind seeming to shear
Scarlet leaves,
Even the rising of the mists
Will not delay it.¯

32

Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 10

Original

あきやまにこころをのみもいるるかなもみぢのいろのふかきまにまに

akiyama ni
kokoro o nomi mo
iruru kana
momiji no iro no
fukaki manimani
By the autumn mountains
My heart, too, is simply
Drawn within!
While the hues of scarlet leaves
Are so deep…

27

Left

あきやまにいらんこころはなごりなくひとにやみえむもみぢちりなば

akiyama ni
iran kokoro wa
nagori naku
hito ni yamiemu
momiji chirinaba
By the autumn mountains
Drawn—such a heart
Might leave no trace
And such a one might cease to be,
Should the scarlet leaves all scatter…

28

Right

もみぢするあきにこころのいるひとやあだなることをまづはしるらむ

momijisuru
aki ni kokoro no
iru hito ya
adanaru koto o
mazu wa shiruramu
Scarlet the leaves turn
In autumn—one with a heart
So drawn, that
‘Tis fleeting
Should know first of all!

29

Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 09

Original

しぐれふりもみぢのみするやまざとはすみしひとさへうつろひにけり

shigure furi
momiji nomi suru
yamazato wa
sumishi hito sae
utsuroinikeri
With the falling showers
Scarlet do the leaves simply turn
At this mountain retreat,
Even folk who dwelled there
Have faded away.

24

Left

しぐれふるもみぢのいろはかはれどもすむひとさへはうつらざりけり

shigure furu
momiji no iro wa
kawaredomo
sumu hito sae wa
utsurazarikeri
Falling showers
The scarlet leaves’ hues
Do change, yet
Folk there dwelling
Remain unfaded!

25

Right

すむひとのしぐれふりいでてうつろはばちらむもみぢをたれかをしまむ

sumu hito no
shigure furi’idete
utsurowaba
chiramu momiji o
tareka oshimamu
Should, folk there dwelling
With the falling showers
Fade away, then
The scattering of scarlet leaves
Who might be there to regret?

26

Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 08

Original

あしひきのやまぢはあきぞまどひけるつもれるもみぢあとしなければ

ashihiki no
yamaji wa aki zo
madoikeru
tsumoreru momiji
ato shinakereba
Leg-wearying
Mountain paths in autumn
Are lost, indeed!
For piled with scarlet leaves
Traces are their none…

21

Left (Win)

もみぢばをたむけにつめるあきやまにみちみえずともたれかまどはむ

momijiba o
tamuke ni tsumeru
akiyama ni
michi miezu tomo
tareka madowamu
Scarlet leaves are
An offering made
By the autumn mountains, so
Though the path might go unseen,
Who would lose their way?

22

Right

あしひきのやまのもみぢしあかからばみちふみわけてたづぬばかりぞ

ashihiki no
yama no momiji shi
akakaraba
michi fumiwakete
tazunu bakari zo
The leg-wearying
Mountains’ scarlet leaves
Are so bright, that
Forging through along the paths
To visit is all you need to do!

23

Yōzei’in ichi no miko himegimi uta’awase 01

Former Emperor Yōzei, on the 15th day of the Ninth Month, when it fell upon the day of Elder Brother-Metal Monkey, held a poetry match of the Left and Right with his eldest son’s  daughters, the First Princess and the Second Princess, as the leaders of the two teams, composing poems in response to prior poems on the conception of the end of autumn.

Original

つきかげのやましたまでにさやけきはよるももみぢのいろをみよとや

tsukikage no
yamashita made ni
sayakeki wa
yoru mo momiji no
iro o miyo to ya
The moonlight
To the mountains’ foot
Is clear, so
At night, too, the scarlet leaves’
Hues behold—I wonder if they say!

1

Left

もみぢせぬあきのやまべのあらばこそつきのひかりをたづねてもみめ

momiji senu
aki no yamabe no
araba koso
tsuki no hikari o
tazunete mo miyu
Should scarlet leaves be not
Upon the autumn mountainside
Then, surely, still
The moon’s light
Would I visit to see.

2

Right

つきかげにちりぬべければ〔           〕

tsukikage ni
chirinubekereba
When within the moonlight
Can have scattered

3

Nishinomiya uta’awase 04

Round Four

Left

いとどしく照りこそまされもみぢばに日影うつろふ天のかご山

itodoshiku
teri koso masare
momijiba ni
hikage utsurou
ama no kagoyama
All the more
Brightly do shine
The scarlet leaves
Reflecting the sunshine
On heavenly Mount Kago!

Minor Captain Lord Kin’nori, Fourth Rank
7

Right

天の原時雨にくもるけふしもぞ紅葉の色はてりまさりける

ama no hara
shigure ni kumoru
kyō shimo zo
momiji no iro wa
terimasarikeru
The plain of heaven is
Clouded with showers, but
Today for certain
The hues of the scarlet leaves
Shine most bright.

The Daughter of His Excellency, the Head
8

Considering the Left’s ‘Reflecting the sunshine / On heavenly Mount Kago’ about scarlet leaves reflecting the sun’s light, gives me the feeling that this must be a mistaken reference to the garlands of scarlet clubmoss worn by minor officiants at the Great Thanksgiving Service. In addition, among all of the many mountains in various places whose leaves turn scarlet, it seems something of a stretch to go so far as to mention Heavenly Mount Kago, considering it is an archaic expression found in the Collection of a Myriad Leaves, among other places. The Right’s ‘Clouded with showers, but / Today for certain’ is an expression perfectly in tune with the topic, making one wonder whether the leaves’ hue is the result of single drenching which has dyed them superbly.

Tsurayuki uta’awase 13

Love

Left

淡く濃く染めはじめたるもみぢ葉になどわが恋をおもひそむらむ

usuku koku
somehajimetaru
momijiba ni
nado wa ga koi o
omoisomuramu
Both lightly and deeply
Have begun to colour
The scarlet leaves, so
Why should my love
Seem to occupy my thought so?

25

Right

白露のおきてわかれし朝より消えかへりても恋ひわたるかな

shiratsuyu no
okite wakareshi
ashita yori
kiekaeritemo
koiwataru kana
Silver dewdrops
Fell as we parted—
With the morning
They may vanish, yet
My love for you continues on!

26

Entō ōn’uta’awase 35

Round Thirty-Five

Left (Tie)

おのがすむ嶺の木がらし寒き夜は鹿も紅葉の衣きるらし

ono ga sumu
mine no kogarashi
samuki yo wa
shika mo momiji no
koromo kirurashi
Where he dwells upon
The peak, the bitter wind
On a night so chill, for
The stag, of scarlet leaves
Does seem to make a robe.

The Supernumerary Major Counsellor
69

Right

すみのぼる月にうらむる声すなりねられぬ鹿や夜寒なるらん

suminoboru
tsuki ni uramuru
koesunari
nerarenu shika ya
yozamu naruran
Climbing clearly
At the moon, in despair
Does he cry—
Sleepless, does the stag
Feel night’s chill, perhaps?

Nobunari
70

The Left’s poem has ‘the stag, of scarlet leaves does seem to make a robe’ which sounds charming, and the Right’s poem has ‘sleepless, does the stag feel night’s chill, perhaps’, which appears refined. Thus, they tie.