しらつゆはまだふたたびもおかなくにつきのかつらのいろかはるらむ
| shiratsuyu wa mada futatabi mo okanaku ni tsuki no katsura no iro kawaruramu | If only silver dewdrops Again, once more Would not fall, for The moon’s silver trees’ Hue they seem to change… |
Fujiwara no Tsurayasu
17
Category Archives: Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 08
Silver grass
Left (Tie)
はなすすきほにいづるをのはしらくものあさゐるとのみあやまたれけり
| hanasusuki ho ni izuru ono wa shirakumo no asa iru to nomi ayamatarekeri | Silver grass Fronds appear upon the plains For clouds of white Spreading through the morning, simply Have I mistaken them. |
Ariwara no Suetaka
15
Right
はなすすきほのくれがたのつゆけきはうきよのなかをそよとしればか
| hanasusuki ho no kuregata no tsuyukeki wa ukiyo no naka o soyo to shireba ka | The silver grass Fronds at twilight Are dew-drenched— That this cruel world Is so, I wonder if they know? |
Fujiwara no Aritoki
16
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 07
Mist
Left (Tie)
うすしともみゆるものからさほやまのみねのあきぎりあきたちにけり
| usushi to mo miyuru mono kara saoyama no mine no akigiri aki tachinikeri | Faint Does it appear, so with Mount Sao’s Peak in autumn mists Autumn has come! |
Taira no Tōmi
13
Right
あさぎりはたつともみえずいとどしきをぐらのやまのふもととおもへば
| asagiri wa tatsu mo miezu itodoshiki ogura no yama no fumoto to omoeba | The morning mists Arise, and hidden Even more are Gloomy Mount Ogura’s Foothills… |
Taira no Sanenao
14
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 06
Geese
Left (Tie)
あきのそらかりのなきくるくもゐをばよそなるひとのふみとこそみれ
| aki no sora kari no nakikuru kumoi oba yoso naru hito no fumi to koso mire | In the autumn skies Geese call Beyond the clouds, To someone so far away A letter, they do seem. |
Fujiwara no Akane
(Arimasa in a certain text)
11
Right
まだきかぬみみにやあるらむはつかりのおとだにもせぬあきはきにしを
| mada kikanu mimi ni ya aruramu hatsukari no oto dani mo senu aki wa kinishi o | I have yet to hear Them with my ears, it seems— The first geese Have made not a sound, but Autumn has come… |
Miharu no Miyakoe
12
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 05
Autumn Moon
Left (Tie)
しらつゆのそこにひかりはやどれどもとまらでぞゆくあきのつきかげ
| shiratsuyu no soko ni hikari wa yadoredomo tomarade zo yuku aki no tsukikage | At silver dewdrops Base its light Does lodge, yet Never stays, but departs— The autumn moonlight. |
Fujiwara no Kakena
9
Right
あきのつきこのしたなべてあかければこのもかのものかげだにもせず
| aki no tsuki ko no shita nabete akakereba kono mo kano mo no kage dani mo sezu | When the autumn moon Aligns beneath the trees So bright, Each and every one Casts no shadow at all. |
Miyaji no Sukeon
10
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 04
Pine crickets
Left (Win)
いまこむとたれたのめけむあきのよをあかしかねつつまつむしのなく
| ima komu to tare tanomekemu aki no yo o akashikanetsutsu matsumushi no naku | ‘I’m coming now’— Who might I trust to say that, On an autumn night Ever unable to greet the dawn The pine crickets cry. |
Tachibana no Yasūdoki
7
Right
あききてはほどへにけるをあやしくもわがまつむしのおとづれもせぬ
| aki kite wa hodo henikeru o ayashiku mo wa ga matsumushi no otozure mo senu | Autumn comes, and Time has passed, but How strange it is I pine for the crickets That never come to call. |
Minamoto no Satake
8
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 03
Maidenflowers
Left
あきかぜはふかずもあらなむをみなへししるもしらぬもおもふこころは
| akikaze wa fukazu mo aranamu ominaeshi shiru mo shiranu mo omou kokoro wa | Even should the autumn breeze Fail to blow, O, maidenflower, still Those who know you and know you not, Would hold you in their hearts… |
Taira no Yasū
5
Right (Win)
をみなへしおひたるのべにふきかかるあきののかぜにみをやそへまし
| ominaeshi oitaru nobe ni fukikakaru aki no nokaze ni mi o ya soemashi | Maidenflowers Growing in the meadows Brushed by the blowing Autumn wind o’er the fields— O, how I wish it trailed over me, too… |
Tomo no Tadanori
(or in some texts Toshizane)
6
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 02
Crickets
Left
ゆふさればこゑふりたててきりぎりすつゆをさむみやよもすがらなく
| yū sareba koe furitatete kirigirisu tsuyu o samumi ya yomosugara naku | When the evening comes Louder grow the cries Of the crickets— Is it the dewdrops’ chill that Has them cry the night away? |
Yoshimine no Yukikara
3
Right (Win – Tie in a certain text)
きりぎりすあきのよぶかくおもふかなねざめてきけどこゑのたえねば
| kirigirisu aki no yobukaku omou kana nezamete kikedo koe no taeneba | Crickets Deep on autumn nights Do fill my thoughts! I awaken and listen, yet Their cries then fade away… |
Miyaji no Okifuru
4
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 01
The bodyguards of the Former Former Crown Prince composed on autumn matters and matched them.
Bush Clover
Left (Win)
つゆむすぶあきはきにけりむべこそはうちとけぬねにむしのなきけれ
| tsuyu musubu akihaginikeri mube koso wa uchitokenu ni mushi no nakikere | All tangled with dewdrops The autumn bush-clover has ta’en on scarlet hues Truly, indeed, There’s no relaxing, while The insects cry. |
Sakanoue no Kuzusuke
1
Right
のべごとにこころをやらむあきはぎのさくをりかねてちらさせじとて
| nobe goto ni kokoro o yaramu akihakgi no saku orikanete chirasaseji tote | To every single meadow Is my heart a’drawn— The autumn bush-clover Blooms and I cannot pluck it, Thinking not to make it scatter… |
Tomo no Toshizane
2
Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | 17 |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 31 |
| Title | 保明親王帯刀陣歌合 |
| Romanised Title | Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase |
| Translated Title | Poetry Match held by the Bodyguards of Imperial Prince Yasuakira |
| Alternative Title(s) | 東宮保明親王帯刀陣歌合 Tōgū yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase Poetry Match held by the Bodyguards of Crown Prince Yasuakira |
| Date | Autumn, Engi 4-22 [904-922] |
| Extant Poems | 17 |
| Sponsor | |
| Identifiable Participants | Sakanoue no Kuzusuke; Tomo no Toshizane; Yoshimine no Yukikara; Miyaji no Okifuru; Taira no Yasū; Tomo no Tadanori; Tachibana no Yasūdoki; Minamoto no Satake; Fujiwara no Kakena; Miyaji no Sukeon; Fujiwara no Akane; Miharu no Miyakoe; Taira no Tōmi; Taira no Sanenao; Ariwara no Suetaka; Fujiwara no Aritoki; Fujiwara no Tsurayasu |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | 萩、螽斯、女郎花、松虫、秋月、雁、霧、薄 (Bush-clover, crickets, maidenflowers, pine cricketes, autumn moon, geese, mist, cogon grass) |
Imperial Prince Yasuakira 保明親王 (904-923) was a son of Emperor Daigo 醍醐 (885-930; r. 897-930), who died at a tragically young age and so never became emperor as originally intended. When he was young, a visiting physiognomist from the Korean kingdom of Goryeo examined him and stated that his features were those of one who would ascend to the highest in the state—something which Murasaki Shikibu was later to adopt for the protagonist of Genji monogatari.
The dates of this match are uncertain—it could have taken place while Yasuakira was alive, or be a memorial for him after his passing, as the headnote to the contest identifies him as the ‘Former former Crown Prince’ (zen zen bō 前前坊). Nevertheless, Hagitani (1957, 235–236) suggests the match took place during Yasuakira’s lifetime, but provides no definitive evidence.
Little is known about the poets as a result of their lowly status as bodyguards, although this does make for some less conventional language in their poems in places. Given these participants, there is no doubt the contest was a private one and thus almost certainly took place in person rather than via the submission of pre-written poems.
The contest is historically significant in that it is the first example of a ‘pure’ poetry match with composition on a wide range of seasonal topics. Prior to this point this type of range was only seen in ‘garden matches’ (zenzai awase 前菜合), where the focus was divided between the poetry and the plants which were displayed for the company in garden or nearby.