Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest, 13th day, Third Month, Engi 13
Leader of the Left: the Sixth Princess[i]; the Princes: Her Highness’ elder brothers, the Minister of Central Affairs, the Fourth Prince[ii] and the President of the Board of Censors,[iii] the Fifth Prince[iv]; Middle Counsellor, Lord Fujiwara no Sadakata[v], Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division Arizane[vi]; Poets: Fujiwara no Okikaze, Ōshikōchi no Mitsune; Participants: Muneyuki,[vii] Yoshikaze,[viii] and others.
The Leader of the Right: the Seventh Princess[ix]; the Princes: Her Highness’ elder brother, the Kōzuke Eighth Prince[x] and Emperor Seiwa’s Eighth Prince, Sadakazu[xi]; Middle Counsellor, Lord Minamoto no Noboru[xii], Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Right Division Lord Kiyotsura[xiii]; Poets: Korenori, Tsurayuki; Participants: Prince Kanemi[xiv], Lord Kiyomichi. [xv]
His Majesty’s raiment: a reddish-purple robe, tinged with black, with yellow trousers. The ladies and gentlemen: the Left—red with cherry kasane; the Right—blue with willow kasane.[xvi] The poets and pages counting[xvii] for the Left, as always wore red, with pale red patterned trousers; for the right, blue, with yellow-green patterned trousers. All the various princes wore blue or red.[xviii]
Thus, the proclamation to His Majesty[xix] by the Left began at the Hour of the Snake.[xx] The princes participating, all in splendid raiment, presented the diorama.[xxi] It was brought in on the shoulders of four courtiers.[xxii] The music was the song ‘The Sea at Ise’,[xxiii] played in A minor.[xxiv]
The Right’s diorama was presented at noon. Four large pages, with their hair coiled at the sides of their heads,[xxv] and wearing shoes woven from cord[xxvi] brought it in. The music was ‘Bamboo River’,[xxvii] played very quietly on G,[xxviii] while the participating princes entered with great dignity.
The Left’s proclamation was brought in by the Nakatsukasa Prince, who was wearing cherry blossom. That of the Right was brought in by the Ueno Prince, wearing a willow branch.[xxix]
The poems were in small boxes made of rosewood, placed inside a larger one of the same material.
The senior nobles[xxx] had their seats on the veranda to the left and right of the stairs.[xxxi]
His Majesty arranged for four of his lady chamberlains[xxxii] to serve both Left and Right. These women performed the role of reciting the poems.[xxxiii] His Majesty instructed that the curtain be rolled up about a foot and a half so that the poems could be recited.
‘Let Tadafusa[xxxiv] judge whose poem it is which sounds better,’ said His Majesty. When he was told Tadafusa was not in attendance, His Majesty appeared somewhat downcast.
Although the Right was victorious, there were two of His Majesty’s poems in the match which won, of course, so the Right lost by one round. Even so, victory music was played for both teams.
Poems on haze were attached to the mountain. Poems on warblers were attached to the blossom. Poems on cuckoos were attached to deutzia blooms. The night’s poems were placed on torchlit cormorant fishing boats.[xxxv]
The princes of the Left presented those of the Right with two large vessels made of silver, containing a blended incense paste made from aloeswood.[xxxvi]
All the ladies participating received robes.
The topics were the First, Second and Third Months.
[i] Onna roku no miya 女六宮: Imperial Princess Kaishi 誨子内親王 (?-953). Her mother was Fujiwara no Yasuko 藤原保子, the daughter of Fujiwara no Arizane, who participates in this contest. She was to marry Prince Motoyoshi元良親王 (890-943), the eldest son of Emperor Yōzei 陽成 (869-949; r. 876-884), and give birth to a son, Minamoto no Sagei源佐芸。
[ii] Nakatsukasa shi no miya 中務四宮: Imperial Prince Atsuyoshi 敦慶親王 (888-930), Uda’s fourth son; his mother was Fujiwara no Taneko (Inshi) 藤原胤子 (?-896). He was close to his father, organising the services held at the Ninnaji temple to mark Uda’s fiftieth birthday celebrations. He held the positions of Minister of Central Affairs (nakatsukasakyō 中務卿), Minister of Ceremonial (shikibukyō 式部卿) and was then appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Education (daigaku bettō 大学別当) in 925. He was by reputation something of a lothario, and has been cited as one of the models for the protagonist of the Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari 源氏物語).
[iii] The Board of Censors (danjōdai弾正台) was a law enforcement agency charged with, in particular, investigating criminal activity, mainly corruption and political offences, among the upper nobility.
[iv] Danjō go no miya 弾正五宮: Imperial Prince Atsukata/Atsumoto 敦固親王 (?-927), Uda’s fifth son, who also had Taneko (Inshi) as a mother. He served as both Governor-General of Dazai (dazai no sochi 大宰帥) and Minister of War (hyōbukyō 兵部卿). He was a talented musician who occasionally played the lute at palace dinners, while his talents as a poet were recognised by the inclusion of one of his poems in Gosenshū as part of an exchange with Ki no Haseyo 紀長谷雄 (845-912): He had paid a visit to the house of an acquaintance where there was a plum tree. ‘When it blooms, I will certainly invite you to come,’ he was told, but when no letter arrived… 梅花今は盛りになりぬらんたのめし人のをとづれもせぬ mume no hana / ima wa sakarini / narinuran / tanomeshi hito no / otozure mo senu ‘The plum blossom / Is now profusely / Blooming, it seems, but / From the man I trusted / Comes no note, at all…’ The Suzakuin Prince and Minister for War (GSS I: 38); In reply. 春雨にいかにぞ梅やにほふ覧わが見る枝は色もかはらず harusame ni / ika ni zo mume ya / niouran / wa ga miru eda wa / iro mo kawarazu ‘In such spring rain / However might the plum / Let out its lustrous scent? / The branches before my eyes / Have yet to change their hues.’ Ki no Haseyo (GSS I: 39).
[v] Fujiwara no Sadakata 藤原定方 (871-931): he was the second son of Fujiwara no Takafuji 藤原高藤 (838-900), and the elder brother of Uda’s Junior Consort Taneko (Inshi) and thus maternal uncle to both Atsuyoshi and Atsutaka. Unsurprisingly, given these close connnections to the throne, he had an extremely successful court career, occupying a number of provincial governorships and court military posts before being appointed a Middle Counsellor (chūnagon 中納言) at Junior Third Rank in 913, the year this match takes place. Seven years later, in 920, he was appointed Major Counsellor (dainagon 大納言) and then Minister of the Right (udaijin 右大臣) four years later. His residence was on Sanjō, thus he is often referred to as the Sanjō Minister of the Right (sanjō udaijin 三条右大臣). Today, he is best remembered as a poet, having thirteen poems in imperial anthologies, the most well-known of which is: Sent to a woman. 名にしおはば相坂山のさねかづら人にしられでくるよしもがな na ni shi owaba / ausakayama no / sanekazura / hito ni shirarede / kuru yoshi mogana ‘If the name fits, then / On the mount of Meeting Hill / Let a scarlet kadzura vine / Without other folk knowing / Find a way for me to come to you!’ (GSS XI: 700), which was included in Ogura hyakunin isshu (25).
[vi] Fujiwara no Arizane 藤原有実 (847-914): as indicated above, Arizane was Kaishi’s maternal grandfather. After a promising start to his court career, achieving Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade and the position of Consultant (sangi 参議) in 882 at the age of thirty-five, he seemed destined for one of the high offices of state, but his advancement languished after this, seeing him raised in rank, but not significantly in office, passing through a number of supernumerary provincial governorships until he was made Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division (saemon no kami 左衛門督) in 897. This was an office he was to hold until 913, the year before his death.
[vii] The text here has 致行, but this is thought to be Minamoto no Muneyuki 源宗于 (?-939). Muneyuki was the son of Prince Koretada 是忠親王 (857-922), and thus the grandson of Emperor Kōkō. He was demoted from the imperial family in 894 with the award of the Minamoto surname, and embarked on an unspectacular court career, culminating in the post of Master of the Right Capital Office (ukyō daiyu 右京大夫) in 933, followed by a final increase in rank to Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade in 939, the year of his death. It appears that his lack of professional success did trouble him, as Yamato monogatari 大和物語 (‘Tale of Yamato’; ca 951) records the following:
The late Master of the Right Capital Office was Lord Muneyuki. While he was fretting over when he might achieve advancement, His Majesty, the Cloistered Teishi Emperor was presented with a stone with seaweed clinging to it from the province of Ki, and various people presented poems on the topic. The Master of the Right Capital Office composed…
沖つ風ふけゐの浦にたつなみのなこりにさへや我はしつまん
| oki tsu kaze fukei no ura ni tatsu nami no nagori ni sae ya ware wa shitsuman | From the offing the wind blows Upon the beach at Fukei; Are the breaking waves Indeed a memento I might keep? |
(Yamato monogatari 42)
He then composed and presented to the Teishi Emperor…
哀てふ人も有へく武蔵のゝ草とたにこそおふへかりけれ
| aware chō hito mo arubeku musashi no no kusa to dani koso oubekarikere | A pitiful Man, indeed, there is Upon Musashi plain, where With the wretched grasses He has put down roots! |
(Yamato monogatari 44)
A further poem:
時雨のみふる山里の木の下はをる人からやもり過ぬらん
| shigure nomi furu yamazato no ko no shita wa oru hito kara ya morisuginuran | Showers simply Fall upon a mountain retreat Beneath the trees; Has someone gone astray there To make them seem so endlessly thick? |
(Yamato monogatari 45)
When he received these, His Majesty was not of a mind to respond. I have heard that he read the poems then showed them to someone, saying, `What is this about? I don’t understand!’, so it is said they had no effect.
It is, thus, as a poet that Muneyuki is better known: he participated in both the Poetry Match held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor (Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 寛平后宮歌合) and the Poetry Contest at the House of Imperial Prince Koresada (Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase 是貞親王家歌合), and records exist of poetic exchanges between him and Tsurayuki, while Ise includes the following exchange with him in her personal collection, Ise-shū.
From the Master of the Right Capital Office, when the pinks were blooming in profusion.
我がそでにうつらばうつれてもやまずつみやいれましなでしこのはな
| wa ga sode ni utsuraba utsure te mo yamazu tsumi ya iremashi nadeshiko no hana | If, to my sleeves It is to shift, then let it! My hand will not cease To pick and I would tuck within A flowering pink! |
Ise-shū 348
My reply.
こきかぎりことはつみいれてなでしこのうへなるそでのいろぞみせまし
| koki kagiri koto wa tsumi’irete nadeshiko no ue naru sode no iro zo misemashi | There’s a limit to the depth, Picked and tucked within, so Atop the pinks The sleeves’ Passionate hues—that’s what you should show me! |
Ise-shū 349
This exchange reads as if Muneyuki is approaching Ise with romance in mind, and she is chiding him for his lack of ardour, but Okazaki (1963, 21) categorises Muneyuki as someone Ise had ‘connections with through waka or music’, so there may have been a lack of serious intent on both sides.
Muneyuki’s poetry was certainly respected by his contemporaries, however, as he has a total of fifteen poems in imperial anthologies, including six in Kokinshū, of which the most famous is: Composed as a Winter poem. 山里は冬ぞさびしさまさりける人めも草もかれぬと思へば yamazato wa / fuyu zo sabishisa / masarikeru / hitome mo kusa mo / karenu to omoeba ‘In a mountain home / Winter is when loneliness / Overwhelms me; / The bustle of folk and the grasses, too, / Have withered away, I feel.’ (KKS VI: 315), as it was included in Ogura hyakunin isshu (28).
[viii] The source text is not entirely clear here, so this may refer to either Fujiwara no Yoshikaze 藤原好風 (dates unknown) or Taira no Yoshikaze 平好風 (dates unknown), the father of Taira no Sadafumi.
[ix] Onna shichi no miya 女七宮: Imperial Princess Yoriko (Ishi) 依子内親王 (895-936). Despite the title given to her here, Yoriko is also referred to as the Fifth Princess (onna go no miko 女五王) in other texts. Her mother was Uda’s concubine (kōi 更衣), Minamoto no Sadako (Teishi) 源貞子 and, other than her role here, little is known of her although an exchange of poems between her and Fujiwara no Tadafusa 藤原忠房 (?-929) is included in Gosenshū (GSS XII: 880-881):
Sent to the Fifth Princess.
君がなの立つにとがなき身なりせばおほよそ人になしてみましや
| kimi ga na no tatsu ni toganaki mi nariseba ōyosobito ni nashite mimashi ya | Should a rumour of you, my Lady, Reach the ears of a not unworthy Man, then As they do with ordinary folk, I wonder, would events proceed? |
In reply.
たえぬると見ればあひぬる白雲のいとおほよそにおもはずもがな
| taenuru to mireba ainuru shirakumo no ito ōyoso ni omowazu mogana | Broken do Appear, but soon to arrive are Clouds of white, so Not so very distant Would I have you think me! |
Tadafusa asks whether an assignation might be possible between them, despite Yoriko’s status as an imperial princess which would normally rule out relations between her and a commoner. She replies that he should not think that a barrier, and so seems willing, although it appears that no formal relationship ever did take place between them (Katagiri 1990, 258).
[x] Imperial Prince Atsumi 敦実親王 (893-967). Atsumi was Uda’s eighth son, and the only one to enjoy significantly long life. He began his career as Governor of Kōzuke (kōsuke taishu 上野太守), hence his appellation here, but then held a number of senior roles at court, including Minister of Central Affairs (nakatsukasakyō 中務卿) and Minister of Ceremonial (shikibukyō 式部卿). He eventually took orders, under the religious name of Shushin 覚真 in 950, and resided at the Ninnaji 仁和寺 temple until his death. He was renowned as a talented musician, composing some of the key pieces of the court music repertoire, and was thus widely respected. As a poet he is less-well known, having only a single poem in Gosenshū (XV: 1119): When the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber became a nun and, saying she wished for him to administer her vows, came over to the Ninna Temple. ひとりのみながめて年をふる里の荒れたる様をいかに見るらん hitori nomi / nagamete toshi o / furu sato no / aretaru sama o / ika ni miruran ‘All alone / Have I gazed these years / Past upon my retreat’s / Ruined appearance, but / How must it appear within your sight?’
[xi] Imperial Prince Sadakazu 貞数親王 (875-916). Sadakazu was the eighth son of Emperor Seiwa 清和 (850-881; r. 858-876); his mother was Ariwara no Fumiko 在原文子 (dates unknown), the niece of Ariwara no Narihira 在原業平. Narihira composed a poem to celebrate the boy’s birth, which was so enthusiastic that it gave rise to speculation that he, and not the emperor, was the child’s father (Mostow and Tyler 2010, 168-169), but regardless of the truth of this, Sadakazu was famous during his life as a dancer, being chosen to dance the ‘Prince of Lanling’ (ranryōō 蘭陵王), one of the best known court dances, at the fortieth birthday celebrations of Fujiwara no Takaiko (Kōshi) 藤原高子 (842-910), the mother of Emperor Yōzei. He is little known as a poet, with only two poems in imperial anthologies: When he had begun to live with the Katsura Princess, and felt that she did not wish to see him. 人知れず物思頃の我が袖は秋の草葉に劣らざりけり hito shirezu / mono’omou koro no / wa ga sode wa / aki no kusaba ni / otorazarikeri ‘When unknown to all / I am sunk in gloomy thought / My sleeves / To blades of grass in autumn / Lack nothing!’ (GSS XIII: 901); Composed when the former Teishi Emperor made a progress to Naniwa. 君がため波の玉しくみつの浜ゆき過ぎがたしおりてひろはん kimi ga tame / nami no tamashiku / mitsu no hama / yukisugigatashi / orite hirowan ‘For my Lord’s sake / The waves scatter gems / On the beach at Mitsu– / So hard it is to pass them by / I would disembark and gather them up!’ (SSIS IX: 760).
[xii] Minamoto no Noboru 源昇 (848-918): Noboru was the second son of Minamoto no Tōru 源融 (822-895) and thus the grandson of Emperor Saga 嵯峨 (786-842; r. 809-823). He enjoyed a relatively successful court career for a man of his status, beginning as supernumerary Governor of Tosa (tosa gon-kami 土佐権守 ) in 881, and then occupying a number of administrative roles in the capital before being made Head Chamberlain in 893, and a Consultant (sangi 参議) two years later. He was made a Middle Counsellor (chūnagon 中納言), the title Ise uses for him here, in 908, followed by Minister of Popular Affairs (minbukyō 民部卿) in 909, and then finally a Major Counsellor (dainagon 大納言) in 914, and thus is often referred to as the Kawara Major Counsellor (kawara dainangon 河原大納言) in later texts. He is not a significant poet, but does have two poems in imperial anthologies: When he was together with the Cloistered Emperor, gazing the Yoshino waterfall. 何時の間に降り積もるらんみ吉野の山の峡より崩れ落つる雪 itsu no ma ni / furitsumoruran / miyoshino no / yama no kai yori / kuzure’otsuru yuki ‘How swiftly / It does seem to fall / From fair Yoshino’s / Mountain passes: / The snow comes a’tumbling down.’ (GSS XVII: 1236); Composed at a place called Higurashino, when he was in attendance upon the former Teishi Emperor who had gone to view Miyataki. ひぐらしのゆきすぎぬともかひもあらじひもとくいももまたじとおもへば higurashino / yukisuginu tomo / kai mo araji / himo toku imo mo / mataji to omoeba ‘Sundown at Higurashino / Has passed, yet / ‘Tis pointless, for / My darling girl to undo her belt / Has waited not, I fear…’ (Shinchokusenshū VIII: 502).
[xiii] Hagitani (1963, 173) suggests that this may be a miscopying for Fujiwara no Kiyotsune 藤原清経 (846-915) as Kiyotsura held the position of Supernumerary Middle Counsellor (gonchūnagon 権中納言) and it would be odd for him not to be referred to with this title. Kiyotsune was the brother of Fujiwara no Mototsune 藤原基経 and thus the uncle of Emperor Yōzei. He occupied a number of provincial governorships during his career, as well as martial offices in the government, culminating in a final appointment as Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Right Division (uemon no kami 右衛門督) in 908, which strengthens Hagitani’s argument that it is he who is being referred to here. Kiyotsura 清貫 (867-930) was a son of Fujiwara no Yasunori 藤原保則 (825-895), and had a somewhat more wide-ranging career than Kiyotsune, starting with a number of junior ministerial appointments and other administrative roles, such as Major Controller of the Right (udaiben ) in 910, followed by both Major Controller of the Left (sadaiben ) and Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs (mibu tayū ) in 911. He obtained promotion to Junior Third Rank and Supernumerary Middle Counsellor on the 28th day of the First Month, Engi 13 [8.3.913], barely a month before this match was held, so this would have been fresh in Ise’s mind when she was writing the preface, and supports Hagitani’s point. Today, Kiyotsura is mainly remembered not for his life, but for the manner of his death: on the 26th day of the Sixth Month, Enchō 延長 8 [26.7.930], the main palace building was struck by lightning, and Kiyotsura was burned to death when his robes were set alight by the ensuing flames. This was widely believed to be the result of vengeance by the spirit of Sugawara no Michizane 菅原道真 (845-903), enraged by his unjust exile and death in Dazai 太宰, and one of the reasons for his subsequent deification as Tenjin 天神, kami of learning and scholarship.
[xiv] Prince Kanemi 兼覧王 (866?-932) was a son of Prince Koretaka 惟喬 (844-897) and thus a grandson of Emperor Montoku 文徳 (827-858; r. 850-858). He began his court career in 890 with an appointment as Supernumerary Governor of Kawachi (kawachi gon-kami 河内権守), but it was not until over twenty years later, in 911 that he received a leading role as Director of the Department of Shinto (jingihaku 神祇伯). He had to wait a further seven years, until 918, to be appointed as Senior Assistant President of the Board of Censors (danjō daihitsu 弾正大弼), with his final appointment being Minister of the Sovereign’s Household (kunaikyō 宮内卿) in 925. This slow advancement and lack of government posts was probably the result of his character. Ki no Haseyo 紀長谷雄 (845-912) records in his diary Kikeshū 紀家集 that during a hunting excursion held by Emperor Uda on 21st day of the Tenth Month, Shōtai 昌泰 1 [8.11.898], Kanemi brought fodder for the animals but failed to greet Uda when he did so, causing great upset. Haseyo comments that Kanemi was ‘ignorant’ and ‘lacking in awareness’ appropriate to an official (Kobayashi 2001, 67) as a result of this. It is thus as a poet that Kanemi is chiefly remembered, having five poems in Kokinshū and four in Gosenshū, many of which show that he was close to famous poets, such as Ki no Tsurayuki, as they involve poetic exchanges. For example: One day, he was summoned to the Thunder Pavilion to take wine with His Majesty; rain was falling fiercely as evening drew on and when he rose to take his leave, he took his wine-cup and… 秋はぎの花をば雨にぬらせども君をばましてをしとこそおもへ aki hagi no / hana oba ame ni / nurasedomo / kimi oba mashite / oshi to koso omoe ‘The autumn bush clover’s / Blooms by the raindrops / Have been soaked, yet, / My lord, far more / Do I regret leaving you.’ Tsurayuki (KKS VIII: 397); A poem composed in reply. をしむらむ人の心を知らぬ間に秋の時雨と身ぞふりにける oshimuramu / hito no kokoro o / shiranu ma ni / aki no shigure to / mi zo furinikeru ‘While the feelings of regret / In other’s hearts / I have not known, / The autumn showers / Have rained age upon me…’ Prince Kanemi (KKS VIII: 398).
[xv] The identity of this individual remains unclear. Kobayashi (2001, 67), citing Murase (1971) suggests that this may be Minamoto no Kiyohira 源清平 (877-945), who was a son of Prince Koretada 是忠親王 (857-922) and thus Uda’s nephew, who might be expected to attend an event such as this, which was dominated by members of Uda’s family, but acknowledges this is speculative.
[xvi] The Heian nobility wore clothing in elaborate combinations of colours, often created by layering cloth of different colours and thicknesses on top of each other. These combinations had different connotations and were worn at, and to symbolize, different times of year. In this case, the Left are wearing cherry Kasane (sakura gasane 桜襲), which had a red under-robe with a thinner white garment over the top to produce a pale pink shade, while the Right are wearing willow Kasane (yanagi gasane柳襲), which had green under white to produce a pale green. Both of these Kasane were worn at the end of winter and beginning of spring.
[xvii] Kazusashi no warawa 籌刺の童: these were generally attendants in the Chamberlain’s Office of the sixth rank. In formal uta’awase such as this, they would mark the wins and losses of the teams by placing counters on sticks, or might be called upon to help in the preparation of the suhama.
[xviii] The colours worn by the teams and princes link with the choice of modes for the musical accompaniment (see below), because the oshiki-chō symbolised summer and the colour red, while sōjō symbolised spring and the colour blue (Hara 2023, 52)
[xix] Jōsō 上奏: in the context of a formal uta’awase such as this one, this would involve the announcement to the emperor of the topics and the presentation of clean copies of the poems to be recited in the match (Hagitani and Taniyama 1965, 53) .
[xx] Mi no toki 巳の時 : this was a two hour period between 9-11 a.m., however, Hagitani and Taniyama (1965, 53) state that in this context this should be taken to mean 10 a.m.
[xxi] Suhama 洲浜: these were elaborate model landscapes which were used to create a focus for the match and its poems. See the Poetry Match held by Minister of Popular Affairs Yukihira (McAuley Forthcoming-b).
[xxii] The original text describes these men as taiyū, which was a generic term for officials of the Fifth Rank.
[xxiii] This refers to a popular song (saibara 催馬楽): 伊勢の海の清き渚に汐がひに、名告藻や摘まむ、貝や拾はむや、玉や拾はむや ise no umi no kiyoki nagisa ni shiogai ni / nanoriso ya tsumamu / kai ya hirowamu ya / tama ya hirowamu ya ‘At the sea of Ise’s clear shore lie seashells / Should I go a’picking seaweed there? Should I go a’gathering shells? / Should I go a’gathering pearls?’. Naga’ike (1990, 54) quoted in Hara (2023, 51) notes that this tune was ‘one of the most liked of all well-known popular songs’.
[xxiv] The original text states that the tune is played in the oshiki-chō 黄鐘調. This is one of the traditional modes for traditional court music (gagaku 雅楽). More precisely, this is a Church Dorian mode on A ( A–b–c–d–e–f#–g–A), which closely resembles a western natural minor scale on A (Nelson 2023), hence the translation here.
[xxv] Both male and female children before the age of majority generally wore their hair loose about their shoulders, but for important ceremonies and events, older boys would have their hair coiled into rings at either side of their heads. This style was known as mizura 鬟・角髪, which is what Ise describes here.
[xxvi] Shikai/shigai 糸鞋: these were a special type of footwear, often worn by dancers at court events.
[xxvii] A saibara: 竹河の橋の詰なるや橋の詰なるや、花園にはれ、花園に我をは放てや、我をは放てや、めざしたぐへて takekawa no hashi no tsume naru ya / hashi no tsume naru ya / hanazono ni hare / hanazono ni ware oba hote ya / ware oba hote ya / mezashi taguete ‘At the end of Takekawa’s Bridge does lie, At the Bridge’s end does lie / A flower garden, o! / In the flower garden set me free! / Set me free! / With a tender maiden!’
[xxviii] Sōjō 双調, another of the traditional gagaku modes. Its closest western equivalent would be the mixolydian mode on G (Gabcdef) (Tokita and Hughes 2008, 22).
[xxix] The choices of cherry and willow for the two prince’s head gear is linked to their teams’ roles as representing spring and summer, as these plants symbolise these two seasons (Hara 2023, 50).
[xxx] Kandachime 上達部: this term referred to nobles of the Third Rank and above and thus men at the pinnacle of Heian society.
[xxxi] Aristocratic mansions and palaces in the shindenzukuri 寝殿造 style had a set of south-facing stairs leading down from the main building into the garden. The building itself would have had protruding eaves over a wooden veranda which functioned as an intermediate space between the inside and outside of the building, which is where seating for the event has been arranged for the senior nobility.
[xxxii] Nyokurōdō 女蔵人: these were the lowest ranking of all the female attendants at court, beneath Principal Handmaids (naishi no kami 尚侍・内侍督), Assistant Handmaids (naishi no suke 掌侍), Handmaids (naishi no jō/jōji 掌侍) and Palace Ladies (myōbu 命婦). Lady chamberlains performed a variety of tasks, such as sewing costumes for major events (McCullough and McCullough 1980, 822), but on this evidence at least some of them must have been considered skilled enough poetry reciters to perform at a formal event, such as this.
[xxxiii] This uta’awase is the only one where women are recorded as performing this role.
[xxxiv] Fujiwara no Tadafusa 藤原忠房 (?-929): Tadafusa was a son of Fujiwara no Okitsugu 藤原興嗣 (dates unknown), who served at court during the reigns of Kōkō 光孝 (830-887; r. 884-887), Uda (867-931; r. 887-897) and Daigo 醍醐 (885-930; r. 897-930). He occupied a number of roles in provincial administration, as well as martial ones in the capital, culminating in the post of Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Left Division (sakonoe shojō 左近衛少将) in 911. He was subsequently promoted in rank to Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade in 925, and then to Master of the Right Capital Office (ukyō daiyu 右京大夫) in 927 shortly before his death. It is, however, as a musician and poet that he is better known, having seventeen poems in imperial anthologies and also being counted among the Thirty-Six Later Poetic Immortals (Chūko sanjū rokkasen 中古三十六歌仙) by Fujiwara no Norikane 藤原範兼 (1107-1165). It is unclear why he failed to participate in this contest, although it may have been as a polite way of declining to be put in the position of having to judge Uda’s compositions, but he was to judge the later Poetry Match held by the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber (Kyōgoku miyasudokoro uta’awase) in Engi 21 (921) (see below).
[xxxv] This is a description of the suhama, so we know from this that between those of the Left and Right there was a miniature mountain and river complete with model cormorant fishing boats with lanterns, as well as plum trees and deutzia blooms. Hagitani and Taniyama (1965, 54) point out that the elaborate nature of the suhama and the craftsmanship required to produce the gifts, are an indication of extraordinary economic resources available to members of the nobility at this time for short events of this type.
[xxxvi] Jin’awase takimono 沈合薫物: this referred to a paste made by mixing aloeswood (Aquilaria agallocha) with ground rock-shell lids, to preserve the aroma, and then binding this with either vegetable gum (amazura 甘葛) or honey (hachimitsu 蜂蜜) (Gibbs 2018, 10). This would then be used for providing fragrance to an individual’s clothing.