Left – Gentian
かはのうへにけふよりうたむあじろにはまづもみぢばやよらんとすらむ
| kawa no ue ni kyō yori utamu ajiro ni wa mazu momijiba ya yoramu to suramu | Atop the river From today will they strike Upon the fish traps— Is it the scarlet leaves that first Will make to draw near? |
19a
かはのうへにいまよりうたむあじろにはまづもみぢばやよらんとすらむ
| kawa no ue ni ima yori utamu ajiro ni wa mazu momijiba ya yoramu to suramu | Atop the river From this moment will they strike Upon the fish traps— Is it the scarlet leaves that first Will make to draw near? |
19b
Right – Missing
This poem is an acrostic, with ‘gentian’ (riutamu) contained within yori utamu.
Left – Chrysanthemums
きくをうゑて花おもほゆるけふよりはながづきをこそまちわたりけれ
| kiku o uete hana omohoyuru kyō yori wa nagazuki o koso machiwatarikere | I planted chrysanthemums, and Wondering about the blooms From today For the Longest Month Will I always be awaiting. |
13a
きくをうゑて花おもほゆる今よりはながづきをこそまちわたりけれ
| kiku o uete hana omohoyuru ima yori wa nagazuki o koso machiwatarikere | I planted chrysanthemums, and Wondering about the blooms From this moment For the Longest Month Will I always be awaiting. |
13b
Right
よにふれどおいもしられぬものなればいまよりうゑつながづきのきく
| yo ni furedo oi mo shirarenu mono nareba ima yori uetsu nagazuki no kiku | My life goes by, yet Old age I know not So From this moment have I planted Chrysanthemums in the Longest Month. |
14a
よにふれどおいもしられぬものなればいまよりうつすながづきのきく
| yo ni furedo oi mo shirarenu mono nareba ima yori utsusu nagazuki no kiku | My life goes by, yet Old age I know not So From this moment fading are Chrysanthemums in the Longest Month |
14b
Round Seventeen
Left (Win)
すみよしのなごのはまべにあさりしてけふぞしりぬるいけるかひをば
| sumiyoshi no nago no hamabe ni asarishite kyō zo shirinuru ikeru kai oba | At Sumiyoshi On Nago’s seashore Have I gathered shellfish, for Today, I know too well, that There is a point to life… |
Taifu
133
Right
なげかじなよはさだめなきことのみかうきをもゆめとおもひなせかし
| nagekajina yo wa sadamenaki koto nomi ka uki o mo yume to omoinase kashi | Do not fall to grief! Is this world uncertain and Nothing more? It’s cruelties, too, as but a dream Imagine! |
Sadanaga
134
The poem of the Left has a suitable conception for this match and its configuration, again, has a singular, simple style. The poem of the Right, too, has a singular, almost prosaic conception, yet beginning ‘nothing more?’ and then having ‘imagine!’ is a further instance of diction which completely abandons poetic norms. Indeed, I have to say the Left wins.
おくしもにいろめかへしうつりつつはぎのさかりはけふながらみむ
| oku shimo ni irome kaeshi utsuritsutsu hagi no sakari wa kyō nagara mimu | With the falling frost Patterns of hues are exchanged and Ever shifting, so Upon the profuse bush-clover Will I gaze all day, today. |
[Fujiwara no] Ariyoshi
21
いとはしきものにもあるかなきくのはなうつろふとやはいろをみすべき
| itowashiki mono ni mo aru kana kiku no hana utsurou to ya wa iro o misubeki | Something distasteful Is there about them, too! Chrysanthemum blooms Will fade, so why Must they display such passionate hues? |
[Minamoto no] Kintada
22
Question and Response Poetry Contest on Spring and Autumn held in a Certain Place[1]
It is entirely unclear whether this fragment of a match is an offcut of another event, such as Sadafumi uta’awase 貞文歌合 (dates unknown) or Tsurayuki uta’awase 貫之歌合 (939), in which case one can suppose the poems formed part of a larger consideration of the seasons. Another possibility, however, is that this is taken from a selection of his own poems by Ōshikōchi no Mitsune, with the final self-deprecatory comment being an indication of his unwillingness to take a view on the quality of his own work (Hagitani 1957, 233).
春にみなあひにし花の今日の雨に咲くをみるにぞ片負けぬべき
| haru ni mina ainishi hana no kyō no ame ni saku o miru ni zo katamakenubeki | In springtime, all The blossoms that I met, In the rain today I see a’blooming— Not completely inferior at all! |
1
こきまぜに花紅葉散るただ今は春秋ぞともいかがさだめむ
| kokimaze ni hana momijiba chiru tada ima wa haru aki zo to mo ikaga sadamemu | All mixed together Blossoms and scarlet leaves Scatter so now whether ‘Tis spring or autumn, How can I decide? |
2
I had thought to write down the winner and loser, but when, in my extreme ignorance, I tried judging, embarrassingly I was unable to do it. The poems are just as in the text. Incomprehensible untruths and all.
[1] Aru tokoro no shunjū mondō uta’awase 或所春秋問答歌合
Composed on an occasion when I had commanded many people to compose on the conception of the last day of the Ninth month.
はつせ山けふをかぎりとながめつつ入相のかねに秋ぞくれぬる
| hatsuseyama kyō o kagiri to nagametsutsu iriai no kane ni aki zo kurenuru | On Mount Hatsuse, Today marks the bound, I think While gazing out, while With the sunset bell Autumn passes into dusk. |
