Round Twelve
Left
冬の夜の月はとほくやわたりけんかげみしみづのまづしこほれば
fuyu no yo no tsuki wa tōku ya watariken kage mishi mizu no mazu shi kōreba On a winter’s night Does the moon distantly Pass by? For The waters where I saw its face Are the first to freeze…
22
Right
ながれくるみづこほりぬる冬さへやなほうき草のあとはさだめぬ
nagarekuru mizu kōrinuru fuyu sae ya nao ukikusa no ato wa sadamenu Flowing down The waters have frozen With the winter, so will The drifting waterweed still Leave little trace?
23
Winter
Round Eleven
Left
霜のうへにふる初雪の朝氷とけむほどこそひさしかりけれ
shimo no ue ni furu hatsuyuki no asagōri tokemu hodo koso hisashikarikere Upon the frosts Falls first snow, turning Icy in the morning; The time when it will melt is Far away, indeed.
20[1]
Right (Win)
いつのまにふりつもりけんみよしのの山のかひよりくづれ落つる雪
itsu no ma ni furitsumoriken miyoshino no yama no kai yori kuzure’otsuru yuki All of a sudden Has it fallen and piled high In fair Yoshino The mountain passes are Blocked by fallen snow.
21
[1] Kokin rokujō I: 696
Round Ten
Left
千鳥啼くさほの川霧たちぬなり嶺の紅葉の色まさりけり
chidori naku sao no kawagiri tachinu nari mine no momiji no iro masarikeri Plovers cry, as The mists from the Sao River Have risen; On the peaks the scarlet leaves’ Hues are fine, indeed.
19
Right
This poem is missing from the surviving texts of the competition.
Round Nine
Left
川ぎりのふもとをこめて立ちぬれば空にぞ秋の山はみえける
kawagiri no fumoto o komete tachinureba sora ni zo aki no yama wa miekeru The river mists Around the foothills Have risen, so ‘Tis in the skies that autumn On the mountains is revealed.
Fukayabu 17
Right
年毎の紅葉ばながす立田川みなとや秋のとまりなるらん
toshigoto no momijiba nagasu tatsutagawa minato ya aki no tomari naruran Every single year Scarlet leaves wash down The Tatsuta River; Is it at the mouth that autumn Might find its port?
18
Round Eight
Left
秋風の吹来る声はやまながらなみ立ちかへるおとぞきこゆる
akikaze no fukikuru koe wa yama nagara nami tachikaeru oto zo kikoyuru The autumn breeze’s Cry comes gusting; And in the mountains, The sound of waves washing back and forth Comes to my ears.
15
Right
すみの江の松を秋風吹くからにこゑうちそふる沖つ白なみ
suminoe no matsu o akikaze fuku kara ni koe uchisouru oki tsu shiranami At Suminoe The pines by the autumn breeze Are blown, so The sound lies atop The whitecaps in the offing.
16
Autumn
Round Seven
Left
秋山はからくれなゐに成りにけりいくしほしぐれふりてそめけん
akiyama wa karakurenai ni narinikeri iku shio shigure furite someken The autumn mountains To Cathay scarlet Have turned; How many dippings with drizzle Have fallen to dye them so?
13[1]
Right (Win)
秋きぬとめにはさやかにみえねども風の音にぞおどろかれぬる
aki kinu to me ni wa sayaka ni mienedomo kaze no oto ni zo odorokarenuru That autumn has come With my eyes, clearly, I cannot see, yet The sound of the wind Has startled me.
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 14[2]
[1] Shokugosenshū VII: 429
[2] This poem was particularly highly evaluated and so is included in numerous other anthologies (Kokin rokujō I: 125), exemplary collections (Shinsen waka 2) and senka awase – contests assembled from prior poems (Shunzei sanjū roku nin uta’awase 61; Jidai fudō uta’awase 49).
Round Six
Left
夏山のみねのこずゑのたかければなく郭公こゑかはるかな
natsuyama no mine no kozue no takakereba naku hototogisu koe kawaru kana The summer mountain Peaks have treetops So high, that The crying cuckoo’s Calls stand for them.
11
Right (Win)
おほあらきのもりの下草茂りあひてふかくも夏のなりにけるかな
ōaraki no mori no shitagusa moriaite fukaku mo natsu no narinikeru kana In Ōaraki Forest the undergrowth Has grown so thick, that Deep summer is Surely here!
Mitsune 12
Round Five
Left (Win)
なつの夜のふすかとすればほととぎす鳴く一声に明くるしののめ
natsu no yo no fusu ka to sureba hototogisu naku hitogoe ni akuru shinonome On summer nights, I’m wondering whether to go to bed, when A cuckoo’s Single call Brightens the dawn.
Ki no Tsurayuki 9
Right
郭公をちかへりなけうなゐこがうちたれがみの五月雨の空
hototogisu ochikaerinake unaiko ga uchitaregami no samidare no sora A cuckoo Calls again and again; A child’s shoulder-brushing Hair dangling down: A summer shower fills the skies.
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune 10[1]
[1] Shūishū II: 116: For a poetry contest at Sadafun’s house.
Summer
Round Four
Left
匂ふよりここちあだなる花ゆゑにのどけきはるの風もうらみじ
niou yori kokochi adanaru hana yue ni nodokeki haru no kaze mo uramiji From their fragrance Fickle feelings Do these blossoms have, so Peaceful spring’s Breezes I would likely not resent.
7
Right (Win)
夏の夜のぬるほどもなく明けぬればあしたのまをぞかこちよせつる
natsu no yo no nuru hodo mo naku akenureba ashita no ma o zo kakochiyosetsuru On a summer night I’ve lacked time to sleep, and Dawn has come, so I’ll do it on the morrow— That is my excuse!
8
Round Three
Left
氷とくはるたちくらしみよしののよしののたきのこゑまさるなり
kōri toku haru tachikurashi miyoshino no yoshino no taki no koe masarunari Ice melting Spring has come on scene, it seems; In fair Yoshino, Yoshino Falls’ Roar is fine, indeed!
5
Right (Win)
はなの色はかすみにこめてみえずともかをだにぬすめ春の山風
hana no iro wa kasumi ni komete miezu tomo ka o dani nusume haru no yamakaze The blossoms’ hues Have blended with the haze, so I see them not, yet Their very scent is plundered by Spring’s breezes from the mountains.
6
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