Tag Archives: Tatsuta

Kokinshū

KKS II: 108

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Composed when it was said that a poetry competition was to be held at the residence of the Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber in the Ninna period.[1]

花のちることやわびしき春霞たつたの山のうぐひすのこゑ

Fana no tiru
koto ya wabisiki
Farugasumi
tatuta no yama no
uguFisu no kowe		The falling of the flowers
Is sad, indeed;
In the spring haze
On Tatsuta Mountain
A warbler cries…

Fujiwara no Chikage

[1] It was taboo to record the personal names of noble women of high rank unless they were made empress. The Ninna 仁和 period began on the 11th day of the Third Month, 885, and lasted until the 30th day of the Fifth Month, 889. ‘Lady of the Bedchamber’ (miyasudokoro 御息所) was a title given to imperial consorts who had given birth to a prince, while ‘Middle Captain’ (chūjō 中将) was a military position in the palace guards. Contemporary readers would have been able to identify who the ‘Lady who had given birth to an imperial prince and whose father held the position of Middle Captain during the Ninna period’ was, but modern scholarship has not done so; nor have full records of this poetry competition survived.

Man'yōshū

MYS VI: 971

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A poem composed on the 17th day of the Eighth Month Tempyō 4 by Takahashi no Mushimaro, when Fujiwara no Umakai was sent into the west to inspect the military forces there.

白雲の　龍田の山の　露霜に　色づく時に　うち越えて　旅行く君は　五百重山　い行きさくみ　敵守る　筑紫に至り　山のそき　野のそき見よと　伴の部を　班ち遣はし　山彦の　答へむ極み　たにぐくの　さ渡る極み　国形を　見したまひて　冬こもり　春さりゆかば　飛ぶ鳥の　早く来まさね　龍田道の　岡辺の道に　丹つつじの　にほはむ時の　桜花　咲きなむ時に　山たづの　迎へ参ゐ出む　君が来まさば

sira kumo no
tatuta no yama no
tuyusimo ni
iroduku toki ni
utikoete
tabi yuku kimi pa
ipopeyama
iyukisakumi
adamamoru
tukusi ni itari
yamanosoki
no nosoki miyo to
tomo no be wo
akati tukapasi
yamabiko no
kotapemu kipami
taniguku no
sawataru kipami
kunikata wo
misitamapite
puyugomori
paru sariyukaba
tobu tori no
payaku kimasane
tatsutadi no
wokabe no miti ni
nitutuzi no
nipopamu toki no
sakurabana
sakinamu toki ni
yamatadu no
mukaemawidemu
kimi ga kimasaba		 Clouds of white
On Tatsuta Mountain
When the frosty dewfall
Shades it,
Across it
You will go, my Lord,
Many mountains
Passing, and
At foe-warding
Tsukushi arrive;
On the mountains end,
On the plains end, gazing;
Sentry squads
Dividing for despatch;
Echoes from the mountains’
Bounds,
Toad
Testing limits
Of the land
A’viewing;
Sealed in winter, then
When spring comes once more
As a soaring bird
Swiftly return!
When upon the trails of Tatsuta
Upon the hillside paths
Ochre azaleas
Bloom brightly;
When cherry blossom
Blooms,
Bearing elder flowers
Will we come to greet you!
Should you come home again…

Shun’e
俊恵

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Autumn III: 30

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Left.

龍田姫今はの比の秋風に時雨をいそぐ人の袖かな

tatsuta hime
ima wa no koro no
aki kaze ni
shigure o isogu
hito no sode kana		 Princess Tatsuta,
At this time, now,
With the autumn winds
Does hurry along the showers
Upon folks’ sleeves.

A Servant Girl.

479

Right.

あはれなる身のたぐひとも思来し秋も今はの夕暮の空

awarenaru
mi no tagui tomo
omoikoshi
aki mo ima wa no
yūgure no sora		 How sad
Am I and so, too,
I’d thought was
Autumn, now ended
With the evening skies.

Nobusada.

480

The Right state that ‘hurry along the showers’ (shigure o isogu) is lacking in technique [jutsu nashi]. The Left merely say that the Right’s poem ‘isn’t bad.’

Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems use ‘now’ (ima wa) in their diction [kotoba], in conjunction with a powerful [sechinaru] conception [kokoro] of regretting autumn’s passing. Nevertheless, the Gentleman of the Left has said the Right’s poem ‘isn’t bad’ and the Gentleman of the Right has said that of the Left ‘lacks technique’. I feel, however, that the initial conception ‘Princess Tatsuta, at this time, now’ (tatsuta hime ima wa) does not refer only to autumn [but could be used for winter, too]. The Right’s ‘Autumn, now ended with the evening skies’ (aki mo ima wa no yūgure no sora) is also somewhat lacking in technique, is it not? Thus, the round lacks a clear winner, or loser.

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Autumn I: 6

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Left.

打ち寄する浪より秋の龍田川さても忘れぬ柳陰かな

uchiyosuru
nami yori aki no
tatsutagawa
satemo wasurenu
yanagikage kana		 Approaching on
The waves, comes autumn to
The Tatsuta River;
And yet, I cannot forget
The willows’ shade.

A Servant Girl.

311

Right.

秋淺き日影に夏は殘れども暮るゝ籬は荻の上風

aki asaki
hikage ni natsu wa
nokoredomo
kururu magaki wa
ogi no uwakaze		 Faintly autumnal is
The sunlight, with summer
Yet remaining;
At evening by the rough-woven fence
Blows a breeze o’er the silver-grass.

Nobusada.

312

The Right say the Left’s poem is ‘particularly good.’ The Left state that, ‘“Faintly autumnl” (aki asaki) grates on the ear, and we also cannot grasp the use of “evening by the rough-woven fence” (kururu magaki).’

Shunzei states, ‘The Left’s “approaching on the waves” (nami yori aki no), seems particularly charming, but when taken together with “willows’ shade” (yanagi kade)– the Tatsuta River has long been the subject of composition on “flowing scarlet autumn leaves”, and even now this gives a slightly poetic effect; “willows’ shade” has been used in composition, both in ancient times and more recently, but does it not seem commonplace now? The Right’s poem is in the same vein as that of the Right in Round One Hundred and Fifty-Two, yet I do not find “faintly autumnal” to be unpleasant. “Evening by the rough-woven fence”, too, has charm. The Left’s poem has vocabulary in accordance with the contents; the Right unusual expressions. In this combination, the round must tie.’