Autumn
Composed on the morning of the 1st day of the Seventh Month.
昨日こそ夏はくれしかあさ戸出の衣手さむし秋のはつかぜ
| kinō koso natsu wa kureshi ka asa tode no koromode samushi aki no hatsukaze | Was it only yesterday that Summer reached its end? For stepping out my door this morning My sleeves are chilled By autumn’s first breeze… |
Composed on seeing the blinds being moved by the wind one evening, around the 20th day of the Waterless Month.
秋ちかくなるしるしにや玉簾こすのまとほし風のすずしき
| aki chikaku naru shirushi ni ya tamasudare kosu no ma tōshi kaze no suzushiki | Of approaching autumn Is this a sign, perhaps? Hung with jewels The blinds’ gaps reveal The coolness of the wind.[i] |
[i] An allusive variation on: Composed on the moon. 玉垂之 小簾之間通 独居而 見験無 暮月夜鴨 tamadare no / osu no ma tōshi / hitori ite / miru shirushinaki / yūzukuyo kamo ‘Hung with jewels / The blinds’ gaps reveal / Me sitting here alone / How pointless to be gazing out / At the rising moon tonight!’ Anonymous (MYS VII: 1073).
Round Seven
Left (Tie)
草がくれ見えぬをしかも妻こふる声をばえこそ忍ばざりけれ
| kusagakure mienu oshika mo tsuma kouru koe oba e koso shinobazarikere | Hidden by the grasses, Unseen, the stag, too Longing for his mate, His bell, indeed, is unable To conceal! |
Lord Yorimasa
37
Right
秋の野の花のたもとに置く露や妻よぶしかの涙なるらむ
| aki no no no hana no tamoto ni oku tsuyu ya tsuma yobu shika no namida naruramu | In the autumn meadows, Upon the blossoms’ sleeves Are the fallen dewdrops The stag—calling for his mate— Letting tears fall? |
Narinaka
38
The Left is novel, and the Right charming, respectively. The Right’s poem does have a large number of identical syllables—while this is criticized in the Code of the Creation of Poetry as a ‘whole body fault’, it is not the case that poems containing this defect have not appeared in poetry matches from time to time, and I don’t feel it’s necessary to examine whether there are a large number of similar cases here: such things are simply a style of poetry.
Round Five
Left (Win)
きく人の袖もぬれけり秋ののの露分けて鳴くさをしかのこゑ
| kiku hito no sode mo nurekeri aki no no no tsuyu wakete naku saoshika no koe | Folk who hear him Have dampened sleeves, too— Across the autumn meadows As he forges through the dewdrops The stag’s bell. |
Lord Kinshige
33
Right
鹿の音の吹きくるかたにきこゆるはあらしやおのがたちどなるらん
| shika no ne no fukikuru kata ni kikoyuru wa arashi ya ono ga tachidonaruran | The stag’s bell Comes, blown, I do hear— Has the storm, himself, Arisen there, I wonder? |
Lord Kiyosuke
34
I do wonder about the Left, which implies that one would soak one’s sleeves with tears on hearing a stag belling, given that I am unable to bring to mind any prior poems composed in this vein. What are we to make of the fact that, while the poem by Toshiyori, which I mentioned earlier, was composed about tears, there is still no trace of this usage in any other poetry match? It does seem poetic overall, though. The Right’s ‘Has the storm, himself, arisen’ is remarkably startling, so it’s a personal poem. While it’s not the case that there are no prior compositions in this manner, poems for poetry matches have a certain way about them and that’s simply how it is. Thus, the Left wins.
