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
The Beginning of Winter
Left
ほどもなく冬は来にけり神無月秋はまだきもみえなかくを
| hodo mo naku fuyu wa kinikeri kaminazuki aki wa madaki mo mienakaku o | Before I knew it Winter has arrived! In the Godless Month Autumn has only just Vanished from view… |
23
Right
神無月たてるをみれば白露のむすぼほれたる霜おきにけり
| kaminazuki tateru o mireba shiratsuyu no musubōretaru shimo okinikeri | When, the Godless Month’s Arrival I see, Silver dewdrops Have drenched The fallen frost. |
24
Love
Left
秋萩におく白露の消えかへり人をこひしとおもふころかな
| akihagi ni oku shiratsuyu no kiekaeri hito o koishi to omou koro kana | In autumn upon the bush clover Fall silver dewdrops, Vanishing away, with Her I loved— My feelings in those days! |
17[i]
Right
寒き夜はさごろも雁の声きけばかへすがへすぞ人はこひしき
| samuki yo wa sagoromo kari no koe kikeba kaesugaesu zo hito wa koishiki | On a night so chill, In a scanty robe, when the goose Cries I hear, Again and yet again Do I long for her… |
18
[i] This poem is included in Shinshūishū (XII: 1011), with the headnote, ‘From the poetry match at Tsurayuki’s house’. A variant of it also appears in some Mandaishū (XV: 2458) texts; in others the version provided is as in the contest: From the poetry match held when Tsuryuki was in Suo province. 秋萩におく白露の澄みかへり人をこひしとおもふころかな aki hagi ni / oku shiratsuyu no / sumikaeri / hito o koishi to / omou koro kana ‘In autumn upon the bush-clover / Fall silver dewdrops / Ever clear / Her I loved— / My feelings in those days’.
Round Thirty
Left (Tie)
玉をぬく真野の糸萩かたよりにおのれみだるる秋の夕暮
| tama o nuku mano no itohagi katayori ni onore midaruru aki no yūgure | Strung with gems The bush-clover twigs at Mano All align together In their own tangles On an autumn evening. |
Shō
59
Right
待ちわたる時や来ぬらん白露の玉しく庭の秋はぎの花
| machiwataru toki ya konuran shiratsuyu no tama shiku niwa no akihagi no hana | Has that long-awaited Time arrived, perhaps? When silver dewdrop Pearls will spread o’er the grounds From the autumn bush clover blooms… |
Nagatsuna
60
The poems of Left and Right have different diction, but the same configuration.
Round Twenty-Eight
Left
故郷の萩の下葉も色づきぬ露のみふかき秋のうらみに
| furusato no hagi no shitaba mo irozukinu tsuyu nomi fukaki aki no urami ni | In this old, familiar place The bush clover’s underleaves, too, Have changed their hue— Only the dew is deep As autumn’s misery…[1] |
Dōchin
55
Right (Win)
白露の玉ぬきみだる萩が枝に涙かずそふ秋の夕暮
| shiratsuyu no tama nukimidaru hagi ga e ni namida kazusou aki no yūgure | Silver dewdrop Pearls are strung in tangles on The bush clover’s branches— Innumerable tears added On an autumn evening… |
Dharma Master Nyokan
56
Left and Right both have a refined style, yet the Right has a better tone and sounds elegant. Thus, it wins.
[1] An allusive variation on: 比日之 暁露丹 吾屋前之 芽子乃下葉者 色付尓家里 kono koro no / akatoki tsuyu ni / wa ga yado no / hagi no shitaba wa / irozukinikeri ‘Around thus time near / Dawn, the dewfall on / My dwelling’s / Bush clover underleaves / Has changed their hue!’ Anonymous (MYS X: 2182)
草のかう色変わりぬる白露は心おきても思ふべきかな
| kusa no kō iro kawarinuru shiratsuyu wa kokoro okitemo omoubeki kana | The grasses have such Changing hues with The silver dewdrops Fall upon my heart, yet I am filled with longing! |
1[i]
風寒み鳴くなる雁の声によりうたむ衣をまづやからまし
| kaze samumi nakunaru kari no koe ni yori utamu koromo o mazu ya karamashi | Chill will turn the wind as Calling come the goose Cries, so The robes upon the fulling block— First would I borrow one! |
2[ii]
[i] This poem is included in Kokin rokujō (VI: 3768), attributed to Ise, with the headnote ‘The scent of grasses’. It is also included in Ise-shū (88), with the headnote ‘The scent of grasses, in the Minister of Ceremonial’s Garden Match’.
[ii] This poem is included in Ise-shū (89), with the headnote ‘Gentian’ (rindō 竜胆).
Autumn Moon
Left (Tie)
しらつゆのそこにひかりはやどれどもとまらでぞゆくあきのつきかげ
| shiratsuyu no soko ni hikari wa yadoredomo tomarade zo yuku aki no tsukikage | At silver dewdrops Base its light Does lodge, yet Never stays, but departs— The autumn moonlight. |
Fujiwara no Kakena
9
Right
あきのつきこのしたなべてあかければこのもかのものかげだにもせず
| aki no tsuki ko no shita nabete akakereba kono mo kano mo no kage dani mo sezu | When the autumn moon Aligns beneath the trees So bright, Each and every one Casts no shadow at all. |
Miyaji no Sukeon
10
