Left

よのなかにわびしきことをくらぶるにおもふとこひといづれまされり

yo no naka ni wabishiki koto o kuraburu ni omou to koi to izure masareri

When this mundane world’s Pains We do compare, Yearning and loving— Which is finer?

Kuronushi
21

Right

をりふしにいひしことのみわすられであひみぬほどのこひはまされり

orifushi ni iishi koto nomi wasurarede aiminu hodo no koi wa masareri

Those times We simply spoke I cannot forget, Now, when we meet not— Love is finer!

Toyonushi
22

Left

こころにもまかせぬなかにひとしれずおもひかよはすことはまされり

kokoro ni mo makasenu naka ni hito shirezu omoi kayowasu koto wa masareri

Deep within my heart, We will never be, I feel, but Unknown to all My yearning goes back and forth— That is finer!

Kuronushi
23

Right

つくづくとちぎりしほどもすぎゆくにまてどもみえぬこひはまされり

tsukuzuku to chigirishi hodo mo sugiyuku ni matedomo mienu koi wa masareri

Endlessly Did he vow—that time Has passed and I await him, yet see him not— Love is finer!

Toyonushi
24

Left

つれもなきひとにおもひをつけそめてみのみこがるることはまされり

tsure mo naki hito ni omoi o tsukesomete mi no mi kogaruru koto wa masareri

For a cruel Girl to passionately yearn I have begun, Flesh smouldering away— That is finer!

Kuronushi
25

Right

もゆるひにみはもやすともひとこふるむねのほのほはなほまさりけり

moyuru hi ni mi wa moyasu to mo hito kouru mune no honō wa nao masarikeri

A smouldering fire May burn my flesh, yet Loving her The flame within my breast Is finer still!

Toyonushi
26

Left

みひとつをちぢのつるぎにさすよりもしばしものおもふことはまされり

mi hitotsu o chiji no tsurugi ni sasu yori mo shibashi mono’omou koto wa masareri

My only flesh By a thousand thousand swords Is pierced, but more so Being briefly sunk in gloomy thought— That is finer!

Kuronushi
27

Right

かぎりなきひとをわかれてまたとだにあひみぬほどのこひはまされり

kagirinaki hito o wakarete mata to dani aiminu hodo no koi wa masareri

From one so far above Me I part, Never once more even To meet—then Love is finer.

Toyonushi
28

Left

かぎりなくたのむにひとのあだこころつくをおもふはなほまさりけり

kagirinaku tanomu ni hito no ada kokoro tsuku o omou wa nao masarikeri

Completely Trustworthy I thought her, yet On her faithless heart I dwell endlessly— That is finer!

Kuronushi
29

Right

わするれどわすれわびぬるひとをなほこひしとおもふことはまされり

wasururedo wasure wabinuru hito o nao koishi to omou koto wa masareri

I would forget her, yet I cannot in my grief, for Her I do yet Love, I think— That is finer.

Toyonushi
30

Mitsune judges

わびしさはおもひもこひもおとらぬをふかきあさきのほどにやはあらぬ

wabishisa wa omoi mo koi mo otoranu o fukaki asaki no hodo ni ya aranu

In sorrow Neither yearning, nor love Loses out— Their depths and shallows Match, don’t they!

Left

こひするにわびしきことをくらぶるになつとふゆとはいづれまされり

koisuru ni wabishiki koto o kuraburu ni natsu to fuyu to wa izure masareri

When in love and Its suffering We compare, Summer or winter, Which is finer?

Kuronushi
11

Right

なきながすなみだもそでにそほちつつほせどかわかぬふゆはまされり

nakinagasu namida mo sode ni sōchitsutsu hosedo kawakanu fuyu wa masareri

Weeping, flow Tears upon my sleeves Leaving them ever drenched and Though I hang them out, never do they dry— Winter is finer.

Toyonushi
12

Left

いとどしくあつかはしきにこひにさへみのみこがるるなつはまされり

itodoshiku atsukawashiki ni koi ni sae mi nomi kogaruru natsu wa masareri

With dreadful Heat and Passion’s fire My flesh simply smoulders— Summer is finer.

Kuronushi
13

Right

きえかへりものおもふやどにいとどしくゆきのふりつむふゆはまされり

kiekaeri mono’omou yado ni itodoshiki yuki no furitsumu fuyu wa masareri

Vanishing inside My home, filled with gloomy thoughts, and Dreadful Snow falling in drifts— Winter is finer.

Toyonushi
14

Left

こひわびてうちなくそらにせみのこゑしらべあはするなつはまされり

koiwabite uchinaku sora ni semi no koe shirabe awasuru natsu wa masareri

Suffering with love, My cries rise into the skies, and With the cicadas’ songs Form a single refrain— Summer is finer.

Kuronushi
15

Right

さむきよにうすきころもをかへしつつぬれどねられぬふゆはまされり

samuki yo ni usuki koromo o kaeshitsutsu nuredo nerarenu fuyu wa masareri

On nights so cold My scanty robe I ever turn inside out and Lie me down, yet sleepless remain— Winter is finer!

Toyonushi
16

Left

ながきひをおもひくらしてむしのねをよるはなきあかすなつはまされり

nagaki hi o omoikurashite mushi no ne o yoru wa naki’akasu natsu wa masareri

The long days I spend burning with passion’s fire, and As the insects cry throughout The night, I greet the dawn with sobs— Summer is finer.

Kuronushi
17

Right

くさもきもおもひもともにかれゆきてしぐれにぬるるふゆはまされり

kusa mo ki mo omoi mo tomo ni kareyukite shigure ni nururu fuyu wa masareri

Both trees and grass and Passion’s fire, all Wither away, Soaked by showers, Winter is finer!

Toyonushi
18

Left

くさもきもおもひもしげくなりゆきてつゆにそほつるなつはまされり

kusa mo ki mo omoi mo shigeku nariyukite tsuyu ni sōtsuru natsu wa masareri

Both trees and grass and Passion’s fire lushly Grow, Drenched by dewfall, Summer is finer!

Kuronushi
19

Right

ひとはこずこほりにやどはとぢられておきびにもゆるふゆはまされり

hito wa kozu kōri ni yado wa tojirarete okibi ni moyuru fuyu wa masareri

My man fails to come To my house, with ice Sealed up, where Charcoal embers smoulder— Winter is finer!

Toyonushi
20

Mitsune judges

いつもいつもいかでかこひのやすからむふかきこころぞわびしさはます

itsumo itsumo ikade ka koi no yasuraramu fukaki kokoro zo wabishisa wa masu

Always, always How can I love’s pain Ease? A passionate heart with Sorrow will always swell.

Poets of old matched work on spring and autumn.

Left

おもしろくめでたきことをくらぶるにはるとあきとはいづれまされり

omoshiroku medetaki koto o kuraburu ni haru to aki to wa izure masareri

How interesting it is Wonders To compare: Spring and autumn: Which is finer?

Kuronushi
1

Replies

はるはただ花こそはさけのべごとににしきをはれるあきはまされり

haru wa tada hana koso wa sake nobe goto ni nishiki o hareru aki wa masareri

In springtime, simply Does the blossom bloom, but When all o’er the plain Brocade is spread, then Autumn is finer!

Toyonushi
2

Left

あきはただのべのいろこそにしきなれかさへにほへるはるはまされり

aki wa tada nobe no iro koso nishiki nare ka sae nioeru haru wa masareri

In autumn, simply Do the plains’ hues Brocade become, but Scented with fragrance, Spring is finer!

Kuronushi
3

Right

さをしかのこゑふりいでてくれなゐにのべのなりゆくあきはまされり

saoshika no koe furi’idete kurenai ni nobe no nariyuku aki wa masareri

When the stag’s Bell drifts across To scarlet does The plains all turn, so Autumn is finer!

Toyonushi
4

Left

かすみたちのべをにしきにはりこめて花のほころぶはるはまされり

kasumi tachi nobe o nishiki ni harikomete hana no hokorobu haru wa masareri

Hazes rising On the plain, with brocade All spread with Budding blossoms— Spring is finer!

Kuronushi
5

Right

しづはたにあまのはごろもおりかけてひこぼしをまつあきはまされり

shizuhata ni ama no hagoromo orikakete hikoboshi o matsu aki wa masareri

In patterns on her loom Heaven’s feathered robes She weaves away; Awaiting the Herd Boy, Autumn is finer!

Toyonushi
6

Left

あをやぎにいとよりかけてあさごとにたまをつらぬくはるはまされり

aoyagi ni ito yori kakete asa goto ni tama o tsuranuku haru wa masareri

Green willows, Hung with threads, which Every morn are Strung with gems: Spring is finer!

Kuronushi
7

Right

むしのねのくさむらごとによもすがらなきあかしたるあきはまされり

mushi no ne no kusamura goto ni yomosugara naki’akashitaru aki wa masareri

The insects cry From every clump of grass Throughout the night, and Greet the dawn with song— Autumn is finer!

Toyonushi
8

Left

ふみちらすはなもいろいろにほひつつうぐひすのなく春はまされり

fumichirasu hana mo iroiro nioitsutsu uguisu no naku haru wa masareri

Treading, scattering Blossom with a myriad hues A’glowing, with The warbler’s song, Spring is finer!

Kuronishi
9

Right

きりぎりすなくくさむらのしらつゆにつきかげみゆるあきはまされり

kirigirisu naku kusamura no shiratsuyu ni tsukikage miyuru aki wa masareri

Crickets Cry from clumps of grass Covered with silver dew in The moonlight—the sight says Autumn is finer!

Toyonushi
10

Mitsune judges

おもしろきことははるあきわきがたしただをりふしのこころなるべし

omoshiroki koto wa haruaki wakigatashi tada orifushi no kokoro narubeshi

How interesting that, In fact, spring and autumn are Impossible to separate— ‘Tis just that the seasons Have their charm.

The title of this fascinating match, Ronshunjū uta’awase means the ‘Poetry Match Debating Spring and Autumn’. There are a number of doubts about the attribution of the poems in this match and conflicting theories, as a result about when it was put together, but it remains the first example of an extended dialogue in waka form and thus a landmark in Japanese poetic history.

Superficially, it has three participants: Ōtomo no Kuronushi (dates unknown), one of the Six Poetic Immortals mentioned by Ki no Tsurayuki in his preface to Kokinshū, the first imperial poetry anthology; Fujiwara no Toyonushi ( -847), an early Heian noble, poet and likely contemporary of Kuronushi; and Ōshikōchi no Mitsune (859?-925?), one of the compilers of Kokinshū.

The match has three sections each with the same structure. Each begins with a poem by Kuronushi posing a question about which of two things is better. This is then followed by nine poems alternating between Toyunushi and Kuronushi making the case for one of the things being better, before Mitsune provides a further poem giving a judgement on the matter. Despite the match’s title, it is not just spring and autumn which is discussed – this only occupies the first section. The second section deals with summer and winter, while the third discusses ‘feeling’ and ‘loving’.