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)