hana no e ni tsuyu no yado kasu miyagino no tsuki ni zo aki no iro wa miekeru
A spray of blossom Has lent lodging to the dewdrops On Miyagi Plain In the moon, truly, autumn’s Hues are plain to see.
[i] This poem was composed for the ‘Poetry Match of Places Famed for the Moon on the 15th Night of the Eighth Month’ (Hachigatsu jūgoya meisho no tsuki uta’awase 八月十五夜名所月歌合) held on night of the 15th day of the Eighth Month, Jōei 1 [1.9.1232] (Ishikawa and Tani 2001, 171), although it was not included in the extant text of the match.
[i] A similar poem to this is included in Nakatsukasa’s personal collection, Nakatsukasa-shū (118): かきほなるやまとなでしこいろふかきけふやこふこふ人をまたまし kakio naru / yamato nadeshiko / iro fukaki / kyō ya kou / hito o matamashi ‘By the lattice fence / The Yamato pinks’ / Hues are so deep, that / I wonder for today and one to love them / Have they awaited?’
[ii] Some texts of this match have an alternate wording for this poem: みなそこにかげさへみゆるなでしこのなみのはなをやいろにそむらむ minasoko ni / kage sae miyuru / nadeshiko no / nami no hana o ya / iro ni somuramu ‘Upon the very riverbed / Their shapes do appear— / Do the pinks / Even the spray from off the waves / Dye with their hues, I wonder?’
