しぐれふる大あらきの野の小篠はらぬれはひづとも色に出でめや
| shigure furu ōaraki no no no ozasawara nure wa hizu to mo iro ni ideme ya | Showers fall upon Ōaraki Plain, where The dwarf-bamboo groves are Soaked and drenched, but Shall I show a hint of passion? |
502
Monthly Archives: January 2026
Eien narabō uta’awase 04
Round Four
Left (Win)
春の日をなほながかれとおもふかなはな見ることのあかぬこころは
| haru no hi o nao nagakare to omou kana hana miru koto no akanu kokoro wa | O, let the days of spring Still linger lengthily on, I wish! For Gazing on the blossom Has yet to sate my heart… |
Cell of the Fragrant Elephant
7
Right
ことしもやあだにちりぬる山ざくらさもあさましきはなのくせかな
| kotoshi mo ya ada ni chirinuru yamazakura sa mo asamashiki hana no kuse kana | This year, too, will You swiftly scatter, O, mountain cherry? That is a wretched Habit blossoms have! |
Cell of the Everlasting Truth
8
The poem of the Left’s final section is that of a pre-existing older poem.[i] The poem of the Right’s final section is deplorable. Even so, I make the Right the winner.
Both Left and Right are elegant. With that being said, the Left also sounds charming, while the Right’s concluding ‘habit!’, although it is not a major fault, grates on the ear a bit. This is another win for the Left.
[i] The ending of this poem in the texts of this match with Mototoshi’s judgements is different, with the final line being akanu kagiri wa (‘have yet to sate’). This means it closely resembles: Topic unknown. ゆきとまるところぞはるはなかりける花に心のあかぬかぎりは yukitomaru / tokoro zo haru wa / nakarikeru / hana ni kokoro no / akanu kagiri wa ‘To go and stay / A place in springtime / Have I none / For the blossoms, my heart / Have yet to sate completely.’ Sugawara no Tamenobu (GSIS I: 90). Kubota et al. (2018, 223) suggest that as we know that the version of the match that Toshiyori judged was produced later, this poem may have been revised in the light of Mototoshi’s judgement.
Tsurayuki uta’awase 03
The middle of spring.[i]
Left
まづ立ちて過ぎにし春はかひもなしとまるは花ものどけからなむ
| mazu tachite suginishi haru wa kai mo nashi tomaru wa hana mo nodokekaranamu | For it first to have arisen and Then departed—to such a spring There is no point; If it stayed then the blossom, too, Might linger on. |
5
Right
さくら花にほふさかりをみるときは心も春のなかにこそいれ
| sakurabana niou sakari o miru toki wa kokoro mo haru no naka ni koso ire | Cherry blossom: When in glowing profusion I see, then My soul, too, spring’s Heart does enter! |
6
[i] Naka no haru 仲の春
Tsurayuki uta’awase 02
Love.
Left
人知れぬ恋の涙はうぐひすの初声にこそながれいでぬれ
| hito shirenu koi no namida wa uguisu no hatsukoe ni koso nagare’idenure | Unknown to all My tears of love With the warbler’s First cry have Burst into flow! |
3
Right
いかならむときか忘れむ春霞たちゐる空も君ぞこひしき
| ika naramu toki ka wasuremu harugasumi tachi’iru sora mo kimi zo koishiki | What is to become of me? Can I forget the time, when The spring haze Rising into the skies, too, Was dear to me as you? |
4
Tsurayuki uta’awase 01
Tsurayuki’s Poetry Match,[i] 28th day of the Second Month, Tengyō 2[ii]
The beginning of spring.
Left
白雪のみにふりながら梅の花をりつるほどに春は来にけり
| shirayuki no mi ni furinagara mume no hana oritsuru hodo ni haru wa kinikeri | Snow, so white, Falling upon my flesh, While the plum blossom, Branches are breaking Spring has come! |
1
Right
鶯の巣立ちし日よりはるばるとおもひは音にぞまづなかれける
| uguisu no sudachishi hi yori harubaru to omoi wa ne ni zo mazu nakareru | Since the day the bush warbler Departed his nest, Endlessly Have I thought his song For the present has not been here. |
2
[i] Tsurayuki uta’awase 貫之歌合
[ii] 21 March 939
GSIS I: 90
Tsurayuki uta’awase
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 39 |
| Title | 貫之歌合 |
| Romanised Title | Tsurayuki uta’awase |
| Translated Title | Tsurayuki’s Poetry Contest |
| Alternative Title(s) | |
| Date | 28/2 Tengyō 天慶 2 [21.3.939] |
| Extant Poems | 26 |
| Sponsor | Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 |
| Identifiable Participants | N |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | The beginning of spring (hajime no haru 初の春); middle of spring (naka no haru 仲の春); end of spring (haru no hate 春の終); middle of autumn (naka no aki 仲の秋); end of autumn (hate no aki 終の秋); beginning of winter (hajime no fuyu 初の冬); love (koi 恋) |
There are few definite details available about this event—and what can be gleaned about it from other texts and the headnotes to poems linked with it in other sources is sometimes contradictory. Hagitani (1957, 266–267) discusses these issues in detail, but briefly the event is said to have taken place at Tsurayuki’s residence, or when he was in Suō province, early in 939. Tsurayuki was between official positions at this time, so if he did make this journey, it will have been in a private capacity, possibly to visit relatives, or because he had property there. It is possible that he held this event either to mark his departure from the capital, or his return, or that he did, indeed, hold it in the provinces, but as the names of the poets taking part were not recorded, it is impossible to be sure.
The match has a somewhat interesting structure, broadly following the seasons with poems on the beginning, middle and end of each, but these are interspersed with seasonally-linked love poems. Rather than following the conventional pattern of having the seasons preceding love, therefore, it blends both topics together, while still maintaining these as the dominant compositional themes. Given Tsurayuki’s eminence and reputation as a poet, Hagitani (1957, 268) suggests that it would have been ‘natural’ for him to have provided judgements on the poems’ quality at the time, but that it was not unusual for these not to have been recorded due to the event’s informal and private nature.
SKKS VIII: 854
病にしづみて、ひさしくこもりゐて侍りけるが、たまたまよろしく成りて、うちにまゐりて、右大弁公忠蔵人に侍りけるにあひて、又あさてばかりまゐるべきよし申して、まかりいでにけるままに、やまひおもくなりてかぎりに侍りければ、公忠朝臣につかはしける
Having fallen ill and long been in seclusion, he recovered somewhat and, attending at the palace, met with Major Controller of the Right Kintada, who was then a chamberlain. He left, saying that he would surely return the day after tomorrow, but his illness worsened and approaching his end, he sent this to Kintada.
くやしくぞ のちにあはむと 契りける 今日をかぎりと 言はましものを
| kuyashiku zo nochi ni awamu to chigirikeru kyō o kagiri to iwamashi mono o | I am struck with bitterness! Once more would we meet Did I vow, but Today I meet my end— That is what I would say… |
Fujiwara no Suetada/Suenawa
Dairi kiku awase – Engi jūsan-nen 02
Right
けふひきてくもゐにうつすきくのはなあまつほしとやあすからはみん
| kyō hikite kumoi ni utsusu kiku no hana ama tsu hoshi to ya asu kara wa min | Today do I draw up, Reflecting in the clouds, Chrysanthemum blooms— As stars within the heavens Might they seem tomorrow? |
Kanesuke[i]
8
あたらしきものにざりけるかみなづきしぐれふりにしいろにはあれども
| atarashiki mono ni zarikeru kaminazuki shigure furinishi iro ni wa aredomo | A new Thing it is not: In the Godless Month Showers have fallen Bringing their hues, and yet… |
Kanesuke
9
ひとくさにさけばかひなしももしきにうつりてのちはいろかふなきみ
| hitokusa ni sakeba kainashi momoshiki ni utsurite nochi wa iro kau na kimi | For a single flower To bloom is pointless, but When to the hundredfold palace It is shifted, It’s hues do change, indeed, my lord! |
Korehira[ii]
10
うつろふとみゆるものからきくのはなさけりしえだぞかはらざりける
| utsurou to miyuru mono kara kiku no hana sakerishi eda zo kawarazarikeru | A faded Thing does it appear to be, This chrysanthemum flower; Branch where it did bloom Is unchanged, indeed! |
Tsurayuki
11
きくのはなこきもうすきもいままでにしものおかずばいろをみましや
| kiku no hana koki mo usuki mo ima made ni shimo no okazuba iro o mimashi ya | If upon the chrysanthemum flowers, Both deep and pale, Up to this day The frost had not fallen, then Would I wish to see their hues? |
Mitsune
12
はつしぐれふりそめしよりきくのはなこがりしえだぞまたそはりける
| hatsu shigure furisomemeshi yori kiku no hana kokarishi eda zo mata sowarikeru | Since the first showers Fell to dye The chrysanthemum blooms Deepened hues to the stems Have been added more! |
Mitsune
13
もとよりのいろにはあれどきくのはなかたへはうつすところがらかも
| moto yori no iro ni wa aredo kiku no hana katae wa utsusu tokorogara kamo | From before Had they their hues, yet The chrysanthemum blooms Shine in part— That is their special strength, perhaps! |
Mitsune
14[iii]
[i] Fujiwara no Kanesuke 藤原兼輔 (877-933)
[ii] Fujiwara no Korehira 藤原伊衡 (876-939). Korehira was the third son of Fujiwara no Toshiyuki and enjoyed a reasonably successful court career, eventually being appointed Minister of Justice (gyōbukyō 刑部卿) in 936. As a poet, he has a respectable 11 poems in imperial anthologies, starting with Gosenshū. At court, he was known for being able to hold his drink: Honchō monzui 本朝文粋, a collection of Sinitic writings by courtiers put together by Fujiwara no Akihira 藤原明衡 (989-1066), contains an account by Ki no Haseo of a drinking contest (sake kassen 酒合戦) organised by Former Emperor Uda on the 15th day of the Sixth Month, Engi 11 (911) at his Teiji-in residence, in which Korehira took part, along with seven other courtiers who were famous for being heavy drinkers. Uda had twenty cups of sake prepared for the competitors, but by the seventh round, Taira no Mareyo 平希世 (?-930) had wandered outside the palace’s gate and passed out, Fujiwara no Nakahira 藤原仲平 (875-945) and Fujiwara no Tsunekuni 藤原経邦 (dates unknown) had vomited on the floor and the others were all dead drunk, with only Korehira showing no signs of intoxication. He was still apparently unaffected after the tenth cup, after which Uda declared him the winner, as none of the others were able to continue, and presented him with a swift horse as a prize!
[iii] Ōchikōchi no Mitsune 凡河内躬恒 (Fl. 898-922)
Dairi kiku awase – Engi jūsan-nen 01
Poems from a Chrysanthemum Match held by the Senior Courtier Gentlemen in the presence of His Majesty, 13th day of the Tenth Month, Engi 13.
Left
ちりはててはななきときのはななればうつろふいろのをしくもあるかな
| chirihatete hakanaki toki no hana nareba utsurou iro no oshiku mo aru kana | All scattered now, For such a brief time are These flowers here; The fading of their hues Is something I regret! |
Okikaze
1
しらくものうへにしうつるきくなればいたくをにほへはなとみるべく
| shiraku mo no uenishi utsuru kiku nareba itaku o nioe hana to mirubeku | A white cloud, Planted is this gleaming Chrysanthemum, so Bright, indeed, shining Does the bloom look to be… |
Suetada[i]
2
あきすぎてはなざかりなるきくのはないろにたぐひてあきやかへれる
| aki sugite hanazakari naru kiku no hana iro ni taguite aki ya kaereru | Autumn is past and The flowers richly blooming are Chrysanthemums: With their hues Autumn does return! |
Korenori
3
なみとのみうちこそみゆれすみのえのきしにのこれるしらぎくのはな
| nami to nomi uchi koso miyure suminoe no kishi ni nokoreru shiragiku no hana | Simply as waves Do they, indeed, appear! At Suminoe Lingering on the shore White chrysanthemum blooms. |
Korenori
4
わぎもこがひもゆふぐれのきくなればあかずぞはなのいろはみえける
| wagimoko ga hi mo yūgure no kiku nareba akazu zo hana no iro wa miekeru | My darling girl Both day and eve is As a chrysanthemum, so Never sated am I with this flower’s Hues I see. |
Korenori
5
きくのはなふゆののかぜにちりもせでけふまでとてやしもはおくらん
| kiku no hana fuyu no kaze ni chiri mo sede kyō made tote ya shimo wa okuran | Chrysanthemum blooms In the winter wind Scatter not; Is it that up to today is when Frost is said to fall? |
Korenori
6
かげさへやこよひはにほふきくのはなあまてるつきにかのそはるらん
| kage sae ya koyoi wa niou kiku no hana ama teru tsuki ni ka no sowaruran | Even their shape Fills tonight with a scented glow; Chrysanthemum blooms To the heaven-shining moon Seem to add their fragrance. |
Korenori
7
[i] Fujiwara no Suetada/Suenawa 藤原季縄 (?-919). Little is known of Suetada’s life, other than that he was apparently close to Ise 伊勢 and exchanged poems with her. The circumstances of his death, however, are recorded in Yamato monogatari, which relates that he fell ill in Engi 19 (919) when he held the position of Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division (Ukonoe shōshō右近衛少将). On a day when he was due to be in attendance at the palace, he sent a message to Minamoto no Kintada 源公忠 (889-948), a Chamberlain and the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Housekeeping, to say that illness prevented his being there. Kintada replied that he should attend without fail on the day after tomorrow, but when that day came, Suetada sent him the following poem:
くやしくぞ のちにあはむと 契りける 今日をかぎりと 言はましものを
| kuyashiku zo nochi ni awamu to chigirikeru kyō o kagiri to iwamashi mono o | I am struck with bitterness! Once more would we meet Did I vow, but Today I meet my end— That is what I would say… |
SKKS VIII: 854
Concerned, Kintada ordered up a carriage and went immediately to Suetada’s residence, only to find he had died before he arrived. Greatly downcast, he returned to the palace and reported Suetada’s death to the emperor.