黄葉乃 過麻久惜美 思共 遊今夜者 不開毛有奴香
もみちばの すぎまくをしみ おもふどち あそぶこよひは あけずもあらぬか
| momidiba no sugimaku wosimi omopudoti asobu koyopi pa akezu mo aranu ka | The autumn leaves’ Scattered passing, regretting With fine company Enjoying tonight— O, won’t dawn break not? |
The above is a poem by Ōtomo sukune Yakamochi of the Palace Guards.
Round Two
Left
しらつゆのこのはをわきておくやまのふかきもみぢはいろもうつらじ
| shiratsuyu no ko no ha o wakite okuyama no fukaki momiji wa iro mo utsuraji | Silver dewfall Marks out the leaves upon the trees; In the mountains’ heart, Deep scarlet the autumn leaves Hues, too, will never fade away. |
3[i]
Right (Win)
くれなゐのやしほのいろはもみぢばに秋くははれるとしにざりける
| kurenai no yashio no iro wa momijiba ni aki kuwawareru toshi ni zarikeru | With vermillion Dippings eight, hue is laid Upon the scarlet leaves with Autumn added To the year! |
4[ii]
[i] This poem is included in Gyokuyōshū (V: 794/795) with the headnote, ‘For the scarlet leaves match during the reign of the Tenryaku emperor’.
[ii] This poem is included in Gyokuyōshū (V: 795/796) with the headnote, ‘For the scarlet leaves match during the reign of the Tenryaku emperor’. It is also included in Mandaishū (V: 1223) with the headnote, ‘A poem from the autumn leaves match held at the palace in the intercalary Ninth Month, Tenryaku 9’ and in Kiyotada-shū (38), with the headnote ‘From an autumn leaves match at the palace, in a year when there were two ninth months’.
Original
さほやまのははそのいろはうすけれどあきはふかくもなりにけるかな
| saoyama no hahaso no iro wa usukeredo aki wa fukaku mo narinikeru kana | On Mount Sao The oaks’ hues are Frail, yet Autumn ever deeper Grows! |
Sakanoue no Korenori
15
Left (Win)
さほやまのみねのもみぢばいろいろにたつあさぎりぞそらにしるらむ
| saoyama no mine no momijiba iroiro ni tatsu asagiri zo sora ni shiruramu | On Mount Sao The autumn leaves upon the peak Have many hues— The rising morning mists mean That ‘tis surely known up in the skies. |
16
Right
うすきこきいろのかぎりぞさほやまはあきはつるまであさきとなみそ
| usuki koki iro no kagiri zo saoyama wa aki hatsuru made asaki to na mi so | Both deep and pale Hues are fair extreme! But on Mount Sao Until the end of autumn Frail I would not have them be! |
17
Original
さほやまのははそのもみぢちりぬべみよるさへみよとてらすつきかげ
| saoyama no hahaso no momiji chirinubemi yoru sae miyo to terasu tsukikage | Upon Sao Mountain The oaks’ autumn leaves Must have scattered, for Even at night behold! The shining moonlight… |
12
Left (Win)
ひさかたのつきなかりせばさほやまのもみぢはよるのにしきならまし
| hisakata no tsuki nakariseba saoyama no momiji wa yoru no nishiki naramashi | Were the eternal Moon to cease to be, then Sao Mountain’s Autumn leaves for night’s Brocade would I wish! |
13
Right
つきかげのさやけくみゆるさほやまのもみぢをかぜにまかせずもがな
| tsukikage no sayakeku miyuru saoyama no momiji o kaze ni makasezu mogana | In the moonlight, So clear, I see Sao Mountain’s Autumn leaves—to the wind I would entrust them not! |
14
Scarlet Leaves and Daytime
Round Three
Left
朝霧のはれ行くままにもみぢ葉はあかねさしてぞ色まさりける
| asagiri no hareyuku mama ni momijiba wa akanesashite zo iro masarikeru | As the morning mists Are clearing away The autumn leaves Shine madder red, Their hue the best of all. |
Daishin
5
Right
月草の色どる比はかへれどもははそのもみぢこころにぞしむ
| tsukikusa no irodoru koro wa kaeredomo hahaso no momiji kokoro ni zo shimu | At times the moon-grass’ Fair hues Will shift, yet those of The oaks in autumn Pierce right to the heart! |
His Excellency Akinaka
6
The Left poem’s sequencing isn’t bad, but ‘shining madder red’ has, since ancient times, been used of the sun in poetry, while here it is simply ‘Shine madder red, / Their hue the best of all’. It gives the impression that there is some emotion missing. In a poem for this type of poetry match, I wonder if omitting a single element like this is a grave fault? Even so, I have no recollection of a poem being composed in this manner in any poetry match which people have used for reference from days gone by. In addition, the Right’s ‘At times the moon-grass’ / Fair hues / Will shift, yet’ and what follows shows little evidence of poetic cultivation, so in sum, it’s difficult to say anything here.
Round Eight
Left (Both Judges – Tie)
神無月三室の山の紅葉ばも色に出でぬべく降るしぐれかな
| kaminazuki mimuro no yama no momijaba mo iro ni idenubeku furu shigure kana | In the Godless Month On Mount Mimuro The autumn leaves Show no hues at all, despite The falling showers! |
Lord Morikata
15
Right
かみな月時雨れてわたるたびごとに生田の杜をおもひこそやれ
| kaminazuki shigurete wataru tabi goto ni ikuta no mori o omoi koso yare | In the Godless Month Showers pass by and Every time The sacred grove at Ikuta I do recall. |
Lord Tadataka
16
Toshiyori states: ‘Godless Month’ is the name given to a specific month of the year. It’s somewhat unclear why one would use ‘Godless Month’ in conjunction with ‘Mount Mimuro’ – is there a prior poem to evidence this? It’s quite normal for lines which would normally have five syllables to be written with six, or those with seven to have eight, and this can sound fine in some cases. Here, though, it does sound obviously excessive and I do wonder about that. The second poem is plainly based on an earlier work, and is not at all clear, but as it has precedent, these two are about the same.
Mototoshi states: neither of these poems appears bad, so I say they tie.
Composed after I had had various people compose on the autumn oak leaves on Mount Sao in a shower.
さほやまのははそのもみぢちぢの色にうつろふ秋は時雨ふりにけり
| saoyama no hahaso no momiji chiji no iro ni ustsurou aki wa shigure furinikeri | Upon Mount Sao The oaks’ autumn leaves are A multitude of hues Shifting in the autumn, for The showers fall. |
Round Twelve
Left (Tie)
柞原しぐれにそむるくれなゐはこずゑの風や吹きてほすらん
| hahasowara shigure ni somuru kurenai wa kozue no kaze ya fukitehosuran | The oak groves by The showers are dyed With scarlet— Might the wind through the treetops, Gusting, bring dryness? |
Shinkaku
95
Right
紅葉ばは入日の影のさしそひてゆふくれなゐの色ぞことなる
| momijiba wa irihi no kage no sashisoite yūkurenai no iro zo kotonaru | The autumn leaves By sunset’s light Are struck, and Evening’s scarlet Hue is startlingly fine! |
Lay Priest Norinaga
96
In the Left’s poem I would want there to be an expression such as ‘robe’ or ‘brocade’ which is being blown. As for the Right, it lacks any unusual diction, but has no noticeable faults, so these should tie.
Round Eleven
Left
おぼつかないづれうらごの山ならんみなくれなゐにみゆる紅葉ば
| obotsukana izure urago no yama naran mina kurenai ni miyuru momijiba | How strange it is— Where is Urago Mountain, I wonder? When all the same scarlet Seem the autumn leaves… |
Kiyosuke
93
Right (Win)
大ゐ河きしのもみぢのちるをりは浪にたたするにしきとぞみる
| ōigawa kishi no momiji no chiru ori wa nami ni tatasuru nishiki to zo miru | At the River Ōi, When the scarlet leaves upon the bank Come to fall, Cut out by the waves, Does their brocade appear! |
Mikawa
94
When I listen to the Left I wonder what on earth it’s actually about—the end seems redolent of love. The Right doesn’t seem to have any particular faults, so it should win.
Round Eight
Left (Tie)
紅葉ばは紅ふかく成りゆけど独さめたる松の色かな
| momijiba wa kurenai fukaku nariyukedo hitori sametaru matsu no iro kana | The autumn leaves Deeply scarlet Are becoming, yet Singly, all the more aware am I Of the pine tree’s hues! |
Koreyuki
87
Right
ははそ原しぐるるままにときは木のまれなりけるも今ぞみえける
| hahasowara shigururu mama ni tokiwagi no marenarikeru mo ima zo miekeru | As the oak groves Linger under showers, An evergreen, So rare, is What appears to me now. |
Kojijū
88
Both Left and Right drop scarlet leave and are composed on evergreens, so they lack the essence of the topic, don’t they. The Right has the finer configuration, but autumn leaves, pointlessly, fail to appear in it. In addition, somewhat distastefully, it puts me in mind of the poem, ‘…Truly, evergreen / The pine tree seems’,[1] so the best these can do is tie.
[1] A poem from a poetry contest held by Her Majesty, the Empress, in the Kanpyō period. 雪ふりて年のくれぬる時こそつひにもみぢぬ松も見えけれ yuki furite / toshi no kurenuru / toki ni koso / tsui ni momijinu / matsu mo miekere ‘Snow falls and /The year reaches its evening, / It is at this time that / Truly, evergreen / The pine tree seems.’ Anonymous (KKS VI: 340)