Round Nine
Left (M – Tie)
秋くれて千草の花は残らねど独うつろふ白菊のはな
| aki kurete chigusa no hana wa nokoranedo hitori utsurou shiragiku no hana | Autumn sinks to twilight, and Of a thousand blossoms Not one lingers, save Alone and fading A white chrysanthemum bloom. |
Lord Shigemoto
41
Right (T – Win)
かぎりなく君が千代経むしるしにや散残るらん宿のしらぎく
| kagirinaku kimi ga chiyo hemu shirushi ni ya chirinokoruran yado no shiragiku | That endless through A thousand ages will my Lord pass A sign there is: Not scattering and lingering White chrysanthemums at his house! |
Lord Tadataka
42
Toshiyori states: I don’t have much to point out about the poem on ‘autumn sinking to twilight’, except that it could have had ‘indeed, linger’ in place of ‘not one lingers, yet’ to lead to ‘alone and fading’. As for the second poem, there are no other examples of saying ‘chrysanthemums scatter’, yet I do wonder about how this sounds? Nevertheless, it has a conception of Felicitation and this makes it somehow superior.
Mototoshi states: the poems of Left and Right are of the same standard in both conception and diction, so it’s not possible to tell them apart. These, too, are of the same quality.
Round Five
Left (T – Tie; M – Win)
秋はてて霜枯れぬれどきくの花残れる色は深くみえけり
| aki hatete shimogarenuredo kiku no hana nokoreru iro wa fukaku miekeri | With the end of autumn Burned by frost they are, yet The chrysanthemum blooms’ Lingering hues Appear all the deeper. |
Lady Shinano
33
Right
白ぎくも移ひにけりうき人のこころばかりとなにおもひけむ
| shiragiku mo utsuroinikeri ukibito no kokoro bakari to nani omoikemu | This white chrysanthemum, too Has faded; ‘tis simply as My cruel lady’s Heart— I wonder why would I think so? |
A Court Lady
34
Toshiyori states: the first poem has ‘With the end of autumn / Burned by frost they are’ and this gives the impression that there is nothing remaining. But saying that autumn has ended, yet one can still see the chrysanthemums, so, in the end, ‘hues appear all the deeper’ means there is a mismatch between the beginning and end of the poem. As for the second poem, it’s a commonplace style of composition to say that you despise someone who has forgotten you, but this is certainly a love poem, and it does not resemble a chrysanthemum one. Nevertheless, there’s nothing particular to point out in this poem and it has some vague parts, so I say this is a tie.
Mototoshi states: the phrase ‘Lingering hues / Appears all the deeper’ doesn’t say what these look like or how they appear. In addition, the poem’s style is not that superlative, and its diction seems halting. With that being said, however, the poem of the Right does not resemble one regretting the chrysanthemums in the slightest. It expresses the feelings of despite between a man and woman who have parted and become distant from each other using the metaphor of the chrysanthemum, and thus the conception of the topic lacks depth, so again the Left has to win.
Left – Bur Reed
あきのこむとしのををのみくりかへしかぞへてうゑん草のいろいろ
| aki no komu toshi no o o nomi kurikaeshi kazoete uemu kusa no iroiro | Autumn will come To the ending of the year, simply, Time and time again, Counting them will I plant A variety of grasses… |
20
This poem is an acrostic, with ‘bur reed’ (mikuri) contained in nomi kurikaeshi.
Right – Missing
Left – Pinks
もも草のときにつけつつさく中にいつともわかぬとこ夏の花
| momokusa no toki ni tsuketsutsu saku naka ni itsu tomo wakanu tokonatsu no hana | A hundred grasses Always with the season Bloom and among them Ever inseparable are The flowering pinks. |
17
Right
よろづよにぬるとこなつの花なればうつろふ秋もまたれざりけり
| yorozuyo ni nuru tokonatsu no hana nareba utsurou aki mo matarezarikeri | For ten thousand ages Have slept abed the pinks In bloom, so For the autumn when they fade They have no need to wait! |
18
Left – Karukaya
はなさかむあきくるまではかるかやのみだれんとだに我がおもはぬに
| hana sakamu aki kuru made wa karukaya no midaren to dani ware omowanu ni | Its flowers bloom In autumn, but ‘til then That the tufted grass Is all confused, I would not even think… |
11
Right
こゑにいでてはかるかやまの山びこはこたふるかたのゆきとはるけき
| koe ni idete wa karukayama no yamabiko wa kotauru kata no yuki to harukeki | A voice sounds out on The tufted grass-covered mount, The mountain spirit In response sends Snow into the distance. |
12a
こゑにいでてはかるかやまの山びこはこたふるかたのゆけどはるけき
| koe ni idete wa karukayama no yamabiko wa kotauru kata no yukedo harukeki | A voice sounds out on The tufted grass-covered mount, The mountain spirit’s Response goes Out yet still is far away. |
12b
