はるたつとおもひもあへぬあさいでにいつしかかすむおとは山かな
| haru tatsu to omoi mo aenu asa ide ni itsu shika kasumu otowayama kana | Spring’s arrival I had not felt, but This morning, stepping out, Suddenly all hazed o’er was Otowa Mountain![i] |
[i] See: Composed on the day spring arrived. 逢坂の關をや春もこえつらむ音羽の山のけさはかすめる ausaka no / seki o ya haru mo / koetsuramu / otowa no yama no / kesa wa kasumeru ‘At Meeting Hill / The barrier will spring, too, / Pass beyond? / In the Otowa Mountains / This morning is all hazed.’ Tachibana no Toshitsuna (Goshūishū I: 4)
Willow
Left (Win in a certain text)
あをやぎのえだにかかれるいとなくははるのくるをもしらずやあらまし
| aoyagi no eda ni kakareru ito naku wa haru no kuru o mo shirazu ya aramashi | If, from the green willow Branches hanging Were there no threads, then Of spring’s coming Would there be any knowing? |
15
Right (Win)
あさごとにまづもみるかなあをやぎのいとはよるよるいろやまさると
| asa goto ni mazu mo miru kana aoyagi no ito wa yoruyoru iro ya masaru to | Every single morning First will I behold them! For the green willow Threads after each night Might be the best hue of all? |
16
Sent in the morning after he had first visited the Fifth Lady of the Hon’in mansion.
あさまだき露わけきつる衣手のひるまばかりにこひしきやなぞ
| asa madaki tuyu wakekituru koromode no Firu ma bakari ni koFisiki ya na zo | So early in the morning Did I make my way through the dew Upon my sleeves, By brief noon will dry, but Why do I yearn for you more, even so? |
Taira no Yukitoki
Topic unknown.
さをしかのあさたつ野べの秋はぎに玉とみるまでおけるしらつゆ
| saoshika no asa tatsu nobe no akihagi ni tama to miru made okeru shiratsuyu | Stags Stand in the morning meadows, where Upon the autumn bush clover As gemstones appearing Have fallen silver dewdrops. |
Middle Counsellor Yakamochi[i]
[i] This poem is included in Man’yōshū (VIII: 1598).
Garden Cherry
あさごとに我がはくやどのにはざくらはなちるほどはてもふれでみむ
| asa goto ni wa ga haku yado no niwazakura hana chiru hodo wa te mo furede mimu | Every single morning Around my house I could sweep Garden cherry Blossoms, scattered I’ll not touch them, but gaze on them, instead! |
7[i]
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (I: 61) as an anonymous poem with the headnote ‘Among the poems from a poetry match held by the Fujitsubo Junior Consort during the reign of the Engi Emperor’, and also in Kokin rokujō (4234) with the headnote ‘Garden Cherry’.
Round Twelve
Left
霜枯に移ひ残る村菊はみる朝ごとにめづらしきかな
| shimogare ni utsuroinokoru muragiku wa miru asa goto ni mezurashiki kana | Burned by frost, Faded and lingering A cluster of chrysanthemums When I see them every morn Strikes me afresh! |
Lord Toshitaka
47
Right (Both Judges – Win)
置くしものなからましかば菊のはな移ふ色をけふみましやは
| oku shimo no nakaramashikaba kiku no hana utsurou iro o kyō mimashi ya wa | Fallen frost Were there none, then Chrysanthemum blooms Faded hues I would not see today… |
Lord Tamezane
48
Toshiyori states: the first poem has nothing remarkable about it, apart from the undesirable use of ‘clustered chrysanthemums’. The second poem’s sense could be that when the frost has fallen, the chrysanthemum won’t display faded hues, but it is a mistake to link frost fall and being able to see them. However, if we interpret is as meaning it has fallen, so we can then view them for a long time, well, I can understand that, and will make it the winner.
Mototoshi states: this poem has no faults, but it does not appear to be a poem suited to a poetry match—it’s just rather dull. The poem of the Right, too, lacks anything worth pointing out and just says that the poet wants to gaze upon faded hues today—this seems a bit cliched, but I’d say it’s superior.
