Category Archives: 0901-0950

Shiki koi sanshu uta’awase – Summer

Summer

Left

夏くればかみにあふひの草つみてかざしにいのるひとにばかりぞ

natsu kureba
kami ni aoi no
kusa tsumite
kazashi ni inoru
hito ni bakari zo
When the summer comes
For the God, hollyhocks
 Are plucked, and for a
Prayer placed in the hair of
All folk, every one!

7

夏草も茂りにければ駿河なる田子のうらなへ今やひくらん

natsu kusa mo
shigerinikereba
suruga naru
tago no ura nae
ima ya hikuran
The summer grasses, too,
Have grown lush, so
As Suruga’s
Tago Bay,
Do they now extend their charm?

8

夏虫のやどるにまつは色ならで春秋空にうつろひやする

natsumushi no
yadoru ni matsu wa
iro narade
haru aki sora ni
utsuroi ya suru
The summer insects
Lodge upon the pines
Unchanging hues;
Is it the spring and autumn skies
Which fade away?

9

Right

卯花の咲く夏の夜はやみなれどかきねにやどる月かとぞみる

u no hana no
saku natsu no yo wa
yami naredo
kakine ni yadoru
tsuki ka to zo miru
The deutzia flowers
Bloom upon a summer night
‘Tis dark, yet
Lodged upon my brushwood fence
I wonder if I see the moon?

10

五月きぬことかたらはむほととぎす君にあふちの花も咲きけり

satsuki kinu
koto katarawamu
hototogisu
kimi ni auchi no
hana mo sakikeri
That the Fifth Month has come
Is announced by
The cuckoo:
For you, the chinaberry
Blossoms, too, have bloomed.

11

空蝉のからにはあらで置く露の身をあらたむる心なるべし

utsusemi no
kara ni wa arade
oku tsuyu no
mi o aratamuru
kokoro narubeshi
A cicada’s shed
Shell I am not, for
The dripping dew
Does refresh my flesh, or
So my heart seems to feel.

12

Shiki koi sanshu uta’awase – Spring

Spring

Left

春のたつ霞の衣うらもなく年を経てこそ花の散りけれ

haru no tatsu
kasumi no koromo
ura mo naku
toshi o hete koso
hana no chirikere
Spring does sew
A robe of haze
Without an underlay,
The year passes by in
A scattering of blossom

1

春の野の雪間をわけていつしかと君がためとぞ若菜摘みつる

haru no no no
yuki ma o wakete
itsushika to
kimi ga tame to zo
wakana tsumitsuru
Across the springtime meadows
Do I forge between the snows,
Eagerly, so eagerly,
For you, my Lord,
Have I gathered fresh herbs!

2

春霞かすみこめたる山里はこほりとくともかげはみえじを

harugasumi
kasumi kometaru
yamazato wa
kōri toku tomo
kage wa mieji o
The haze of spring
Blurs all around
A mountain retreat,
Even were the ice to melt
I could see no sign of it!

3

Right

梅枝にきゐる鶯年毎に花の匂ひをあかぬ声する

ume ga e ni
ki’iru uguisu
toshigoto ni
hana no nioi o
akanu koesuru
Upon the plum tree’s branches
Has come to rest the warbler;
Every single year, that
Of the blossoms’ scent
He cannot get his fill he sings.

4

桜色に花さく雨はふりぬとも千しほぞそめてうつろふなそで

sakurairo ni
hana saku ame wa
furinu tomo
chishio zo somete
utsurou na sode
Cherry-coloured
Blossoms flower, as the rain
Falls on, yet
Dyed a thousand times
Fade not, o, my sleeves!

5

青柳のいとはるばると緑なる行末までも思ひこそやれ

aoyagi no
ito harubaru to
midori naru
yukusue made mo
omoi koso yare
The willow’s
Branches dangle lengthily
So green
Right to the very end
Will I fondly think of you.

6

Fujitsubo nyōgo senzai awase

Shinpen kokka taikan no.
Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no.23
Title藤壺女御前栽合
Romanised TitleFujitsubo nyōgo senzai awase
Translated TitleGarden Contest held by the Fujitsubo Junior Consort
Alternative Title(s)
DateAutumn, Year unknown
Extant Poems2
Sponsor
Identifiable Participants
JudgementsN
Topicsautumn; bell crickets (suzumushi 鈴虫)

There is limited concrete evidence about this contest, with even the identity of the Fujitsubo Junior Consort is uncertain, with some suggestions that this is an alternate title for the Seventh Princess, while others make the case for it being her mother – whose identity is also unclear. If either of these theories were correct, however, it suggests that the poems here may, in fact, have formed part of the Teishi-in – onna shichi no miya uta’awase rather than being part of an independent contest.

There remains the fact, however, that the first of the two poems associated with this contest was included in Shokukokinshū 続古今集 (IV: 332) and attributed to Emperor Uda with the headnote:

Composed by His Majesty when he judged he poems in the Garden Match held by the Fujitsubo Junior Consort.

So there was clearly a belief on the part of the compilers of that anthology when it was put together in 1265 that it was part of an identifiable competition.

花の色はこなたかなたにみゆめれど秋の心は一つなりけり

Fana no iro Fa
konatakanata ni
miyumeredo
aki no kokoro Fa
Fitotu narikeri
The blossoms’ hues
So varied
Do appear, and yet
The heart of autumn
Is the same in every one.

1

音に高くいとどなりませ鈴虫は白露ことにおきつとならば

ne ni takaku
itodo narimase
suzumusi Fa
siratuyu koto ni
okitu to naraba
Their piercing cries
Grow all the louder –
Should on the bell crickets
Silver dewdrops especially
Fall…

2

Teishi’in – onna shichi no miya uta’awase

Shinpen kokka taikan no.
Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no.22
Title亭子院・女七宮歌合
Romanised TitleTeishi’in – onna shichi no miya uta’awase
Translated TitlePoetry Contest held by the Seventh Princess of Former Emperor Uda
Alternative Title(s)
Date13/8 Engi 13 [15.9.913]
Extant Poems2
SponsorImperial Princess Kaishi 誨子内親王 (?-953) or Imperial Princess Ishi (Yoriko) 依子内親王 (895-936)
Identifiable Participants
JudgementsN
Topicsgarden streams (yarimizu 遣水); high crags (iwao 巌)

As can be seen from the table above there remains uncertainty about the identity of the sponsor of this contest, as both Kaishi and Ishi (Yoriko) are referred to as Uda’s ‘Seventh Princess’ (onna shichi no miya 女七宮) in different texts and thus either could have been the formal sponsor of this contest. Little else is known about it, due to the fact that only two of its’ poems have survived, although the headnote suggests that the contest took place as part of the celebrations of the princess’ mogi 裳着 (‘skirt wearing’) ceremony. This was an event which functioned as a rite-of-passage for noble women when they put on adult clothing for the first time, and was generally conducted at the same time as another ceremony, kamiage 髪上 (‘lifting of the hair’), when they unbound their hair from its childish style and allowed it to flow freely behind them. Combined, these ceremonies indicated that a girl had become an adult and was thus ready for marriage. The mogi ceremony had no fixed age, but was usually carried out between the ages of twelve and sixteen.

These poems are from the evening of the Seventh Princess mogi celebrations, when Her Highness led her gentlemen retainers as participants in the competition.

Garden streams

岩分けて流るる水の底にこそひさしき影はみるべかりけれ

iFa wakete
nagaruru midu no
soko ni koso
Fisasiki kage Fa
mirubekarikere
Passing through the rocks
The flowing waters,
Indeed, hold beneath
An everlasting face which
We will behold!

1

High crags

かぞへつつ君がみるべき岩のうへに影さしならべ生ふる姫松

kazoFetutu
kimi ga mirubeki
iFa no uFe ni
kage sashinarabe
oFuru Fimematu
Constantly count them and,
My Lady, you will surely see
Atop the crags,
Forms all arrayed,
Full grown princess pines!

2

Yōzei’in uta’awase (Engi jūni-nen natsu)

Shinpen kokka taikan no.11
Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no.21
Title陽成院歌合
Romanised TitleYōzei’in uta’awase
Translated TitleFormer Emperor Yōzei’s Poetry Contest
Alternative Title(s)
DateSummer, Engi 12-13 [912-913]
Extant Poems20
SponsorEmperor Yōzei 陽成天皇 (869-949; r. 876-884)
Identifiable Participants
JudgementsRound 1 only
TopicsLove and summer insects (natsumushi no koi 夏虫の恋)

This is a small-scale contest sponsored by Yōzei some years after he had left the throne. Other than the first round, where a ‘Tie’ is noted, there are no judgements, nor have the poets’ names been recorded. The competition’s most significant feature, therefore, is that it is the sole extant contest on the topic of ‘Love and Summer Insects’ and as such established many of the images and vocabulary usages which subsequent poets used when composing related poetry (Hagitani 1963, 183).

A man and a women dressed in kimono kneel on the verandas of separate traditional Japanese houses looking out on the gardens in late evening. Countless fireflies dance in the space between them forming a link between the two figures.
Created with Adobe Firefly.

Teiji-in uta’awase

Shinpen kokka taikan no.10
Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no.20
Title亭子院歌合
Romanised TitleTeiji-in uta’awase
Translated TitleFormer Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest
Alternative Title(s)
Date13/3 Engi 13 [22.4.913]
Extant Poems70
SponsorEmperor Uda 宇多天皇
Identifiable ParticipantsIse 伊勢; (Sakanoue no) Korenori 是則; (Ōshikōchi no) Mitsune 躬恒; (Ki no) Tsurayuki 貫之; Suekata 季方; Uda 宇多; (Ōnakatomi no) Yorimoto 頼基 (886-958); (Fujiwara no) Okikaze 興風; Prince Kaneyuki 兼行王; Masakata 雅固
JudgementsY
Topicsmid-spring; late spring; early summer; love

This is one of the most historicially significant poetry competitions because it is the first example we have of an uta’awase as a formal event, where a range of rituals and procedures took place, and poems were judges. We possess this information about it thanks to an extended preamble to the contest text, believed to have been written by Ise, describing who participated in it and how the contest was conducted.

As can be seen from the list of participants above, the majority of poems for the contest were composed by well-known and respected poets of the time. However, these poets did not, in fact, actually present their own work when the contest took place. This was done by a number of more senior nobles, as follows:

LeftRight
(Leader) Imperial Princess Kaishi 誨子内親王 (?-953)
Imperial Prince Atsuyoshi 敦慶親王 (888-930)
Imperial Prince Atsukata 敦固親王 (?-927)
Middle Counsellor (chūnagon 中納言) Fujiwara no Sadakata 藤原定方 (871-931)
Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division (saemon no kami 左衛門督) Fujiwara no Arizane 藤原有実 (847-914)
Minamoto no Muneyuki 源宗于 (?-939)
Taira no Yoshikaze 平好風 (dates unknown)
(Leader) Imperial Princess Ishi (Yoriko) 依子内親王 (895-936)
Imperial Prince Atsumi 敦実親王 (893-967)
Imperial Prince Sadakazu 貞数親王 (875-916)
Prince Kanemi 兼覧王
Middle Counsellor (chūnagon 中納言) Minamoto no Noboru 源昇 (848-918)
Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Right Division (uemon no kami 右衛門督) Fujiwara no Kiyotsura 藤原清貫
Kiyomichi きよみち

The judgements on the poems were provided by Uda himself, after Fujiwara no Tadafusa 藤原忠房 (?-929), who had been asked to perform the role, failed to attend.

The contest was originally intended to have ten rounds on each of its topics for a total of eighty poems, but as a result of the performance taking longer than expected, the second two topics on Summer and Love were curtailed to five rounds each.

Hon’in sadaijin-ke uta’awase

Shinpen kokka taikan no.9
Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no.19
Title本院左大臣家歌合
Romanised TitleHon’in sadaijin-ke uta’awase
Translated TitlePoetry Contest at the House of the Hon’in Minister of the Lef
Alternative Title(s)Hon’in sadaijin tokihira senzai awase 本院左大臣時平前栽合 (‘Garden Contest held by Tokihira, Hon’in Minister of the Left’)
DateAutumn, Engi 5-8 [905-908]
Extant Poems20
SponsorFujiwara no Tokihira 藤原時平 (871-909)
Identifiable Participants
JudgementsN
Topicspinks (nadeshiko なでしこ); silver grass (susuki すすき); reaping silver grass (かるかや); maidenflowers (ominaeshi をみなへし); orchids (rani らに); bush clover (hagi はぎ); mountain orange (yamatachibana 山立花); scarlet leaves (momiji もみぢ); bamboo (take たけ); asters (shioni しをに); evergreens (tokiwagi ときはぎ); gentians (rindō りむだう)

This is the oldest extant example of a senzai awase 前栽合, a contest where examples of different types of plants were compared and appreciated. These events could be relatively informal, with a group of close friends sitting together at someone’s house looking out at the grounds and admiring the plants in the garden; or very elaborate, with plants specially grown for the occasion and presented in manufactured settings. Poems were often composed to accompany the enjoyment of the plants, but these were less frequently judged than was the case in other uta’awase.

We know nothing of the details of this contest, other than that it was sponsored by Tokihira during the period when he was Minister of the Left (905-908) and, given the plants and content of the poems, it would seem to have been an autumn contest.

Sadafumi uta’awase

Shinpen kokka taikan no.
Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no.18
Title貞文歌合
Romanised TitleSadafumi uta’awase
Translated TitleSadafumi’s Poetry Contest
Alternative Title(s)
DateYear unknown
Extant Poems1
SponsorTaira no Sadafun 平定文
Identifiable ParticipantsKiyowara no Fukayabu
JudgementsN
Topics

The only record of this contest is a single poem in Fubokushō (XXIV: 11156) with the headnote ‘From a poetry contest at Sadafumi’s house’ (sadafumi no ie uta’awase 定文家歌合). While this is a variant title used for the earlier ‘Poetry Contest held by Sadafumi, Assistant Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division‘, the poem here does not occur in that competition’s text, nor is its topic suited to the other contest Sadafun is known to have held, and thus it seems more likely that this is from another, minor contest.

Uhyōe shōjō sadafumi uta’awase 6

A wave of chill in the heart due to snow (依雪波心寒)

Left

わだづもにふるしら雪は消えながら波の心にさむさをぞそむ

wadadumi ni
furu sirayuki Fa
kienagara
nami no kokoro ni
samusa wo zo somu
Across the broad sea sweep
Falls white snow;
It vanishes, yet
The waves’ hearts are
Dyed with cold.

10

Right (Win)

ふる雪に波の心もさむからし風とかくれやへたにだによる

furu yuki ni
nami no kokoro mo
samukarashi
kaze to kakure ya
Feta ni dani yoru
With the falling snow
The waves’ hearts, too,
Must be so cold;
Do they hide from the wind
Rushing to the shore?

11[1]


[1]Minor variants on these poems appear in Fubokushō (XVIII: 7269) and (XVIII: 7268).

Uhyōe shōjō sadafumi uta’awase 5

Gazing at snow on the mountain pines in the morning (秋山望松雪)

Left

おりもせず雲もかからぬ山のはに松の上なる雪をこそみれ

ori mo sezu
kumo mo kakaranu
yama no Fa ni
matu no uFe naru
yuki koso mire
Not descending
The clouds cling not
To the mountains’ edge where
Upon the pines
I clearly see the snow.

8

Right

山のはのさやかに照れる朝には松にかかれる雪もみえける

yama no Fa no
sayaka ni tereru
asita ni Fa
matu ni kakareru
yuki mo miekeru
The mountains’ edge is
Brightly shining
In the morning:
Clinging to the pines
I can see the snow.

9