Round Six
Left (Win)
梅の花をりてかざせば二月の雪は衣におつるなりけり
ume no hana orite kazaseba kisaragi no yuki wa koromo ni otsuru narikeri | When plum blossom I pluck and wear within my hair, Second Month Snows upon my robe Do fall! |
Masashige
11
Right
時ならぬ卯花ともやおもはましかきねの梅のかをらざりせば
toki naranu u no hana tomo ya omowamashi kakine no ume no ka orazariseba | Unseasonal Deutzia blooms might I think them? Did the plum by my lattice fence Fail to scent the air… |
Atsuyori
12
The Left is not lacking in conception.
Round Five
Left (Tie)
にほふ香はいづれの梅もかはらねど色なる花ぞわきて身にしむ
niou ka wa izure no ume mo kawaranedo \ iro naru hana zo wakite mi ni shimu | The fragrant scent of Any plum Varies not, yet Those with scarlet hues Especially pierce my breast! |
Iemoto
9
Right
梅の花かをばたもとにしむれども色をばえこそうつさざりけれ
ume no hana ka oba tamoto ni shimuredomo iro oba e koso utsusazarikeri | The plum blossoms’ Scent into my sleeves Has sunk, yet Their hues, of all things, Have shifted not! |
Kūnin
10
I wish I could say that the Left is superior, but that is not the case, so a tie.
Round Four
Left (Win)
春の夜はいこそねられねねやちかき梅のにほひにおどろかれつつ
haru no yo wa i koso nerarene neya chikaki ume no nioi ni odorokaretsutsu | On a night in springtime I cannot sleep at all, for Close by my bedchamber The scent of plum Ever wakes me from my slumber… |
Norimori
7
Right
さ夜ふかみ旅ねの床にかをらずは梅さく宿といかでしらまし
sayo fukami tabine no toko ni ka orazu wa ume saku yado to ikade shiramashi | Deep within brief night In a traveller’s bed No scent reaches me, yet That plum blooms at this dwelling— How is it I might know? |
Kenshō
8
The Left is particularly evocative. The Right is from an old poetry match.
Autumn
りんだうも名のみなりけり秋の野の千草の花のかにはおとれり
rindō mo na nomi narikeri aki no no no chigusa no hana no ka ni wa otoreri | The gentian, too, Has its name, alone; In the autumn meadows Next to a thousand grasses blossoms Its scent is lesser far. |
Minamoto no Shitagō
Created with Soan.
After I had had various people compose on the scent of plum carried on the breeze.
梅がかをゆめの枕にさそひきてさむるまちける春の山風
ume ga ka o yume no makura ni sasoikite samuru machikeru haru no yamakaze | The scent of plum To my pillow, where I lay dreaming Was beckoned— Waiting ‘til I awakened did The mountain breeze in springtime. |
Created with Soan.
Composed on plum blossom.
わが袖に香をだにのこせ梅花あかで散りぬるわすれがたみに
wa ga sode ni ka o dani nokose ume no hana akade chirinuru wasuregatami ni | Upon my sleeves Your scent, at least, leave behind, O, plum blossom! That, unsated, when you have scattered I’ll have a keepsake to forget you not… |
Created with Soan.
In reply.
春雨にいかにぞ梅やにほふ覧わが見る枝は色もかはらず
Farusame ni ika ni zo mume ya niFoFuran wa ga miru eda Fa iro mo kaFarazu | n such spring rain However might the plum Let out its lustrous scent? The branches before my eyes Have yet to change their hues. |
Ki no Haseyo
In a fifty-poem sequence…
たが袖のにほひをかりて梅の花人のとがむる香にはさくらん
ta ga sode no nioi o karite ume no hana hito no togamuru ka ni wa sakuran | From whose sleeves Have you borrowed the scent Of plum blossom— Will a lady be called out By its fragrance blooming forth? |
Prince Munetaka (1242-1274)
宗尊親王
Left
梅の花香をばとどめて色をのみ年ふる人の袖にそむらむ
mume no hana ka oba todomete iro o nomi toshi furu hito no sode ni somuramu | The plum blossoms’ Scent remains, while Their hues An aging man’s Sleeves do seem to dye. |
33
Right
あかずして過行く春の人ならばとくかへりこといはましものを
akazushite sugiyuku haru no hito naraba toku kaeri koto iwamashi mono o | Unsated by The passing spring: If you are such a one, then Hastily return, is What I’d want to say. |
34
Round Three
Left
氷とくはるたちくらしみよしののよしののたきのこゑまさるなり
kōri toku haru tachikurashi miyoshino no yoshino no taki no koe masarunari | Ice melting Spring has come on scene, it seems; In fair Yoshino, Yoshino Falls’ Roar is fine, indeed! |
5
Right (Win)
はなの色はかすみにこめてみえずともかをだにぬすめ春の山風
hana no iro wa kasumi ni komete miezu tomo ka o dani nusume haru no yamakaze | The blossoms’ hues Have blended with the haze, so I see them not, yet Their very scent is plundered by Spring’s breezes from the mountains. |
6
'Simply moving and elegant'