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Naidaijin-ke uta’awase gen’ei gan-nen jūgatsu futsuka

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 21

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Round Nine

Left (M – Tie)

秋くれて千草の花は残らねど独うつろふ白菊のはな

aki kurete
chigusa no hana wa
nokoranedo
hitori utsurou
shiragiku no hana		Autumn sinks to twilight, and
Of a thousand blossoms
Not one lingers, save
Alone and fading
A white chrysanthemum bloom.

Lord Shigemoto
41

Right (T – Win)

かぎりなく君が千代経むしるしにや散残るらん宿のしらぎく

kagirinaku
kimi ga chiyo hemu
shirushi ni ya
chirinokoruran
yado no shiragiku		That endless through
A thousand ages will my Lord pass
A sign there is:
Not scattering and lingering
White chrysanthemums at his house!

Lord Tadataka
42

Toshiyori states: I don’t have much to point out about the poem on ‘autumn sinking to twilight’, except that it could have had ‘indeed, linger’ in place of ‘not one lingers, yet’ to lead to ‘alone and fading’. As for the second poem, there are no other examples of saying ‘chrysanthemums scatter’, yet I do wonder about how this sounds? Nevertheless, it has a conception of Felicitation and this makes it somehow superior.

Mototoshi states: the poems of Left and Right are of the same standard in both conception and diction, so it’s not possible to tell them apart. These, too, are of the same quality.

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase gen’ei gan-nen jūgatsu futsuka

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 20

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Round Eight

Left (T – Win; M – Tie)

冬枯にうつろひ残る白菊はうは葉に置ける霜かとぞみる

fuyugare ni
utsuroi nokoru
shiragiku wa
uwaba ni okeru
shimo ka to zo miru		Sere in winter,
Faded and lingering
A white chrysanthemum as,
Fallen upon its upper leaves,
Frost does appear, perhaps?

Lord Morikata
39

Right

露じもの暁置きのあさごとに移ひまさるしらぎくの花

tsuyujimo no
akatsuki oki no
asa goto ni
utsuroi masaru
shiragiku no hana		Frosty dewdrops
With the dawn fall—arising
Every morning
Fading fairer become
The white chrysanthemum blooms.

Lord Michitsune
40

Toshiyori states: I have the feeling that I have never heard the expression ‘sere in winter’, and I certainly have no recollection of it being in the Collection of a Myriad Leaves. The poem of the Right is smooth and extremely charming; I’m very familiar with the expression ‘dew fallen in the morning when I arise’, and here there seems to be some reason for it, doesn’t there! Still, the first poem is better.

Mototoshi states: the expression ‘faded and lingering’ is difficult to distinguish. In addition, saying ‘Fallen upon [the flower’s] upper leaves, / Frost’ is a severe misjudgment. The poem of the Right has the tautology ‘with the dawn fall’ and then ‘every morning’. Clearly neither of these appears to win or lose, so I make this a tie.

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase gen’ei gan-nen jūgatsu futsuka

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 19

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Round Seven

Left (M – Win)

霜がれの菊なかりせばいとどしく冬の籬やさびしからまし

shimogare no
kiku nakariseba
itodoshiku
fuyu no magaki ya
sabishikaramashi		Were frost-burned
Chrysanthemums there to be none, then
How much more
My brushwood fence in winter
Lonely would be…

Lord Sadanobu
37

Right (T – Win)

しも枯るるはじめをみずは白ぎくの移ふ色を惜まざらまし

shimogaruru
hajime o mizu wa
shiragiku no
utsurou iro o
osamazaramashi		Frost-burns
First sign I see not, so
The white chrysanthemum’s
Fading hues
Cause me no regret at all…

Lord Masamitsu
38

Toshiyori states: the assembled company asked how it can be possible that a brushwood fence in winter would not feel lonely after the chrysanthemums have withered, even granting that they are still there, and this is, of course, the case. In the depths of winter, one would not catch sight of any chrysanthemums. Although, it does sound as if you could could compose in this way, depending upon how early in the season it was. The second poem is of about the same quality, but I feel that I prefer it at the moment.

Mototoshi states: both poems are of the same quality, but ‘My brushwood fence in winter / Lonely would be’ really does make me realise that’s how it is.

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase gen’ei gan-nen jūgatsu futsuka

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 17

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Round Five

Left (T – Tie; M – Win)

秋はてて霜枯れぬれどきくの花残れる色は深くみえけり

aki hatete
shimogarenuredo
kiku no hana
nokoreru iro wa
fukaku miekeri		With the end of autumn
Burned by frost they are, yet
The chrysanthemum blooms’
Lingering hues
Appear all the deeper.

Lady Shinano
33

Right

白ぎくも移ひにけりうき人のこころばかりとなにおもひけむ

shiragiku mo
utsuroinikeri
ukibito no
kokoro bakari to
nani omoikemu		This white chrysanthemum, too
Has faded; ‘tis simply as
My cruel lady’s
Heart—
I wonder why would I think so?

A Court Lady
34

Toshiyori states: the first poem has ‘With the end of autumn / Burned by frost they are’ and this gives the impression that there is nothing remaining. But saying that autumn has ended, yet one can still see the chrysanthemums, so, in the end, ‘hues appear all the deeper’ means there is a mismatch between the beginning and end of the poem. As for the second poem, it’s a commonplace style of composition to say that you despise someone who has forgotten you, but this is certainly a love poem, and it does not resemble a chrysanthemum one. Nevertheless, there’s nothing particular to point out in this poem and it has some vague parts, so I say this is a tie.

Mototoshi states: the phrase ‘Lingering hues / Appears all the deeper’ doesn’t say what these look like or how they appear. In addition, the poem’s style is not that superlative, and its diction seems halting. With that being said, however, the poem of the Right does not resemble one regretting the chrysanthemums in the slightest. It expresses the feelings of despite between a man and woman who have parted and become distant from each other using the metaphor of the chrysanthemum, and thus the conception of the topic lacks depth, so again the Left has to win.

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase gen’ei gan-nen jūgatsu futsuka

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 16

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Round Four

Left (M – Tie)

白砂の霜よに置きてみつれども移ふ菊はまがはざりけり

shirotae no
shimo yo ni okite
mitsuredomo
utsurou kiku wa
magawazarikeri		White as mulberry cloth.
Frost has fallen tonight
I see, and yet
The faded chrysanthemums
I can clearly tell apart.

Lord Masakane
31

Right (T – Win)

八重菊の花の袂をあかずとや霜のうはぎを猶かさぬらん

yaegiku no
hana no tamoto o
akazu to ya
shimo no uwagi o
nao kasanuran		Of eightfold chrysanthemum
Bloomed sleeves
I cannot get my fill, but
Is a frosty jacket
Yet laid upon them?

Lord Tadafusa
32

Toshiyori states: the assemble company have stated about the first poem that in the absence of the moon or the stars it would difficult to distinguish chrysanthemums from the frost, and it certainly sounds like this would be the case. In the latter poem, we need to think of who it is that is feeling that they cannot get their fill of bloomed sleeves—the person wearing them should be included, or if the chrysanthemums are, perhaps, the subject, then ‘eightfold chrysanthemum’ is an error. Even so, the style of the poem seems elevated.

Mototoshi states: the poem stating ‘White as mulberry cloth. / Frost has fallen tonight’ is a bit hackneyed, and it then continues ‘The faded chrysanthemums / I can clearly tell apart’—I question whether one would really mistake faded chrysanthemums and frost. As for the Right’s poem, which says ‘Bloomed sleeves / I cannot get my fill’, well, this really is difficult to grasp. I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth agonizing over whether these were a person’s sleeves or those of the chrysanthemum! I feel that the diction in both poems is skillful, but there’s a lack of necessary information, so it’s impossible to decide a winner or loser here.