Category Archives: 1151-1200

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 05

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Round Five

Left

あきののは花の色色おほかれど萩のにしきにしく物ぞなき

aki no no wa
hana no iroiro
ōkaredo
hagi no nishiki ni
shiku mono zo naki		In the autumn meadows
The blooms have hues
Aplenty, yet
To the bush-clover’s brocade
There’s nothing to compare.

Lord Fujiwara no Yorisuke, Assistant Master of the Empress Dowager’s Household Office
9

Right (Win)

ほりはてぬ花こそあらめ秋ののに心をさへものこしつるかな

horihatenu
hana koso arame
aki no no ni
kokoro o sae mo
nokoshitsuru kana		As yet undug
Flowers, indeed, may there be
In the autumn meadows, for
Even my heart
Does linger there!

Lord Minamoto no Yorimasa, Former Director of the Bureau of Military Storehouses
10

The Left seems a bit cliched, yet it’s not bad. As for the Right, the image of having dug up all the flowers is unsatisfying, yet it’s not worth drawing attention to when the whole sentiment is so charming, and thus the Right should win.

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 04

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Round Four

Left

行人を野べの尾花にまねかせて色めきたてる女郎花かな

yuku hito o
nobe no obana ni
manekasete
iromeki tateru
ominaeshi kana		Folk going by
The meadows the silver grass
Is made to beckon by
The seductively standing
Maidenflowers!

Lord Fujiwara no Suetsune, Former Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs
7

Right (Win)

吹くをりぞ過ぐる人をばまねきけるかぜや尾花の心なるらん

fuku ori zo
suguru hito oba
manekikeru
kaze ya obana no
kokoro naruran		When it blows,
Folk passing by
Are beckoned—
Does the wind the silver grasses’
Heart become?

Minor Controller of the Left Fujiwara no Tamechika
8

The Left appears to have nothing remarkable about it, while the Right’s initial three sections sound clumsy, yet appear to have some degree of conception, so I would say it wins.

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 03

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Round Three

Left

女郎花露もわきてやおきつらんしほれ姿のあてにも有るかな

ominaeshi
tsuyu mo wakite ya
okitsuran
shioresugata no
ate ni mo aru kana		Upon the maidenflowers
Might the dew discriminate
In its falling?
For its dampened form
Is so fine!

Lord Minamoto no Michiyoshi, Minor Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division
5

Right (Win)

もも草の花もあだにやおもふらんひと色ならずうつす心を

momokusa no
hana mo ada ni ya
omouran
hito iro narazu
utsusu kokoro o		A multitude of grasses
Blooms: do they play me false
Should I think?
For not to one hue alone
Is my heart drawn…

Kojijū, Court Lady to Her Majesty
6

The Left, by saying ‘Might the dew discriminate / In its falling?’ seems to want to describe the way that the flowers’ colours become deeper or fainter. It is not appropriate, however, to use ‘dampened form’ in this way. Furthermore, saying something ‘seems fine’ lacks elegance, doesn’t it. The Right does not lack the conception of the topic, so it should win.

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 02

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Round Two

Left (Win)

花すすき誰ともわかずまねくにも心をとむる我やなになり

hanasusuki
tare tomo wakazu
maneku ni mo
kokoro o tomuru
wa ya nani nari		The silver grass fronds
Care not who
They beckon, yet
Entranced
What am I to them them?

Lord Taira no Tsunemori, Assistant Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household
3

Right

あだにおく夜のまの露にむすぼほれて思ひしほるる女郎花かな

ada ni oku
yo no ma no tsuyu ni
musubōrete
omoishioruru
ominaeshi kana		Faithlessly falling
In the night, the dewdrops
Have drenched
The dejected
Maidenflower!

Former Minor Captain, Lord Fujiwara no Kinshige
4

This round the poems, again, are equal in quality, but the Right’s use of ‘dejected’ as a piece of diction is vague, and in the absence of a prior example of usage, the Left should win.

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 01

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Round One

Blossom and Grasses

Left (Tie)　　　

色とこそ萩が花ずりおもひしか香さへ袂にうつりぬるかな

iro to koso
hagi ga hanazuri
omoishika
ka sae tamoto ni
utsurinuru kana		With hues, indeed,
Are the bush-clover blooms dyed
Did I think, but
Even the scent to my sleeves
Has shifted!

Lord Fujiwara no Shige’ie, Minister of Justice
1

Right

あきの野にいづれともなき花なれどまねく薄ぞ先めにはたつ

aki no no ni
izure to mo naki
hana naredo
maneku susuki zo
saki me ni wa tatsu		In the autumn meadows
All equally fine
Are the flowers, yet
It is the beckoning silver grass that
First catches the eye!

Former Minor Counsellor Fujiwara no Suketaka
2

On perusing the poems of Left and Right, it is not the case that neither has any elements lacking feeling. With that being said, the initial section of the Left’s poem and the final section of the right are not laudable, so after some little thought and being confused by the Left and the Right, reluctantly, I have decided to make this a tie.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 35

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Round Thirty-Five

Left

われが身はさそふ水まつ浮草のあとたえぬとも誰かたづねん

ware ga mi wa
sasou mizu matsu
ukigusa no
ato taenu to mo
tare ka tazunen		O, my sorry self—
Pining for the water’s invitation
A hapless waterweed, am I;
And even should my tracks end here,
Is there any who would seek me still?

Masashige
69

Right

うきながら今はとなればをしき身をこころのままにいとひつるかな

ukinagara
ima wa to nareba
oshiki mi o
kokoro no mama ni
itoitsuru kana		Deep in depression
Should now be my time,
‘Twould be that my sad self,
In my heart of hearts,
I did despise!

Lord Kiyosuke
70

Both are straightforwardly charming.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 34

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Round Thirty-Four

Left

世のうさに秋の心のふかければおつる涙ももみぢしにけり

yo no usa ni
aki no kokoro no
fukakereba
otsuru namida mo
momijishinikeri		With the cruelty of this world,
In autumn, my heart is full
Down to its depths, so
Even my dripping tears
Have turned to scarlet hues.

Iemoto
67

Right (Win)

おもひでも又待つ事もなけれどもさすがに世こそすてもやられね

omoide mo
mata matsu koto mo
nakeredomo
sasuga ni yo koso
sute mo yararene		If I recall
I still to await
Have nothing at all, yet
Even so, indeed, this world
I am not ready to abandon!

Yūsei
68

Neither has anything wrong with it, yet the Right is superior.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 33

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Round Thirty-Three

Left (Tie)

人数にあらずなるみのうらに又老の浪さへよるぞかなしき

hito kazu ni
arazu narumi no
ura ni mata
oi no nami sae
yoru zo kanashiki		Numbered among proper folk
I am not, as at Narumi
Bay, yet again do cruel
Waves of age
Break—so sad!

Lord Kinshige
65

Right

うきながらなほをしまるる命かな後の世とてもたのみなければ

ukinagara
nao oshimaruru
inochi kana
nochi no yo tote mo
tanominakereba		In constant suffering
Still do I regret
This life!
For even in the world to come
Can I place no trust…

Moromitsu
66

Neither has any parts I can’t understand.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 32

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Round Thirty-Two

Left

いつとても身のうき事はかはらねど昔は老をなげきやはせじ

itsu tote mo
mi no uki koto wa
kawaranedo
mukashi wa oi o
nageki ya wa seji		Ever does
My suffering remain
Unchanged, yet
Long ago, my age
Surely, was not a source of grief.

Atsuyori
63

Right (Win)

かくばかりうき世の中もすてはてんと思ふになればかなしかりけり

kaku bakari
ukiyo no naka mo
sutehaten to
omou ni nareba
kanashikarikeri		Such a singular
Mundane world of suffering
To abandon completely
I have come to think, but
Still I am sad.

Kūnin
64

I feel that both are true, but the Right seems a little superior at present.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 31

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Round Thirty-One

Left

むらさきに色もかはらずあけ衣我がくろかみの白く成るまで

murasaki ni
iro mo kawarazu
akegoromo
wa ga kurokami no
shirokunaru made		To violet
Hues will never change
My robes of red
Until my tresses of black
Have turned grey…

Masashige
61

Right (Win)

世をもいとふ世にも我が身のいとはれてはなれがたきぞあやしかりける

yo o mo itou
yo ni mo wa ga mi no
itowarete
hanaregataki zo
ayashikarikeri		By this world that I hate so
My sorry self in turn
Is hated, so
That it is so hard to leave
Is a strange thing, indeed.

Kūnin
62

The Left isn’t bad, but as for the Right, well, it truly is a strange thing, isn’t it.