Morning glories
かぜをまつ草の葉におく露よりもあだなる物は槿の花
| kaze o matsu kusa no ha ni oku tsuyu yori mo adanaru mono wa asagao no hana | Awaiting the breeze, Upon the blades of grass lie Dewdrops, but far more Briefly here are Morning glory blooms… |
Tag Archives: blooms
Kinkai wakashū 210
When the bush clover was lingering in the grounds, and I was unable to see whether the blossoms had scattered with the moon shining behind them.
萩のはなくれぐれまでもありつるが月いでてみるになきがはかなさ
| hagi no hana kuregure made mo aritsuru ga tsuki idete miru ni naki ga hakanasa | The bush clover blooms Right until the evening Did linger, but With the rising moon they seem Gone—how brief they are! |
Kinkai wakashū 209
Bush clover at the roadside.
みちのべのをのの夕霧たちかへりみてこそゆかめ秋はぎの花
| michi no be no ono no yūgiri tachikaeri mite koso yukame akihagi no hana | By the roadside Across the meadows evening mists Rise and fall endlessly; Thus would I go and see The autumn bush clover blooms.[1] |
[1] An allusive variation on: For a poetry competition held in the Tenryaku era. 春ふかみゐてのかは浪たちかへり見てこそゆかめ山吹の花 haru fukami / ide no kawanami / tachikaeri / mite koso yukame / yamabuki no hana ‘In the depths of spring / Waves on the river at Idé / Rise and fall endlessly; / Thus would I go and see / The kerria blooms…’ Minamoto no Shitagō (SIS I: 68).
Kinkai wakashū 205
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 12
Round Twelve
Left
我がやどものこる花なくうゑつれど野べのけしきは猶ぞ床しき
| wa ga yado mo nokoru hana naku uetsuredo nobe no keshiki wa nao zo yukashiki | At my dwelling Lingering blooms are there none Though I did plant them, The prospect of a meadow is Charming still! |
Lord Fujiwara no Kiyosuke, Senior Secretary of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office
23
Right
秋萩の枝もとををにおく露のはらはばあやな花やちりなん
| akihagi no eda mo tōo ni oku tsuyu no harawaba aya na hana ya chirinan | The autumn bush-clover Branches bent with Fallen dewdrops— Should I sweep them off, then Would the blossoms scatter, I wonder? |
Lay Priest and Master of the Left Capital Office Norinaga
24
Doesn’t the Right seem to resemble the poem in the Ancient and Modern Collection which says
をりてみば落ちぞしぬべき秋萩の枝もとををにおけるしら露
| oritemiba ochi zo shinubeki akihagi no eda mo tōo ni okeru shiratsuyu | Were I to pluck one, ‘Twould fall and smash: Autumn bush-clover’s Branches bent With fallen silver dewdrops. |
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 11
Round Eleven
Left (Win)
われこそは野べをば宿にうつしつれたがさそひこし虫の音ぞこは
| ware koso wa nobe oba yado ni utsushitsure ta ga sasoikoshi mushi no nezoko wa | ‘Twas I, indeed, who The meadow to my dwelling Shifted, but Who is it has been invited here By the insects’ songs? |
Shun’e Tayū no kimi
21
Right
秋の野の千くさの花の色色を心ひとつにそめてこそみれ
| aki no no no chikusa no hana no iroiro o kokoro hitotsu ni somete koso mire | The autumn meadows Thousand grasses’ blooms Have hues a’plenty, but My heart, but one, Has been dyed, you see! |
Mikawa, Court Lady to His Excellency
22
The Left sounds as if the poet is being comforted by the insects which is at some variance from the essential meaning of the topic, and yet when I listen to it, it has an abundance of charm. The Right doesn’t differ, does it, from Kanemasa’s poem in the Poetry Match held at the Residence of the Minister of the Centre in Gen’ei 2 [1119]:
秋くれば千くさに匂ふ花の色の心ひとつにいかでしむらん
| aki kureba chikusa ni niou hana no iro no kokoro hitotsu ni ikade shimuran | When the autumn comes The thousand grasses glow With flowers’ hues, but Why, then, does my heart with but one Seem to be stained? |
Thus, the Left wins.
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 08
Round Eight
Left (Tie)
うづら鳴く遠里小野の小萩はら心なき身も過ぎうかりけり
| uzura naku tōsato ono no kohagiwara kokoronaki mi mo sugi’ukarikeri | Quails cry from Tōsato plain’s Bush-clover groves— Even one as insensitive as I Finds it hard to pass them by. |
Kenshō Sukenokimi
15
Right
あきの野の花に心をそめしよりくさかやひめもあはれとぞ思ふ
| aki no no no hana ni kokoro o someshi yori kusakayahime mo aware to zo omou | Since the autumn meadows’ Blooms my heart Did fill, for Kusakayahime Fondness, I feel! |
Tōren
16
As for the Left, if one is composing about bush-clover groves, then I would want the poem to mention Miyagi Plain. As for the Right’s Kusakayahime, I wondered if she appeared in the Chronicles of Japan, but in that work you have Izanagi-no-miko and Izanami-no-miko, who wed and create the first land, Akitsushima, and then many provinces, mountains, rivers and seas and thus trees and plants, too. It further states that the primordial tree was Kukunochi and the primordial plant was Kayanohime. The conception of the Right’s poem does not differ from this, yet it continues to mention Kusakayahime, which is unclear. I get the feeling that this poem was composed with the works composed for the banquet held for the completion of the Chronicles of Japan in mind, which refer to each and every spring and the ancient Kayanohime, but even these poems did not differ in conception from that of the main work. It’s impossible to pick a loser or winner.
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 07
Round Seven
Left (Win)
萩がはな分けゆく程は古郷へかへらぬ人もにしきをぞきる
| hagi ga hana wakeyuku hodo wa furusato e kaeranu hito mo nishiki o zo kiru | When through the bush-clover blooms He forges his way, To his ancient home Never to return—that man, too, Wears a fine brocade! |
Minamoto no Arifusa, Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division
13
Right
声たてて鳴くむしよりも女郎花いはぬ色こそ身にはしみけれ
| koe tatete naku mushi yori mo ominaeshi iwanu iro koso mi ni wa shimikere | They lift their songs in Plaintive cries, but far more than the insects ‘Tis the maidenflower’s Wordless hue that truly Pierce my soul! |
Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs Sadanaga
14
The Left is well-composed, but what is the Right’s ‘wordless hue’? Are we supposed to imagine that the expression means ‘silent yellow’? This is difficult to grasp, isn’t it. Whatever way you look at it, the Left seems to win.
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 05
Round Five
Left
あきののは花の色色おほかれど萩のにしきにしく物ぞなき
| aki no no wa hana no iroiro ōkaredo hagi no nishiki ni shiku mono zo naki | In the autumn meadows The blooms have hues Aplenty, yet To the bush-clover’s brocade There’s nothing to compare. |
Lord Fujiwara no Yorisuke, Assistant Master of the Empress Dowager’s Household Office
9
Right (Win)
ほりはてぬ花こそあらめ秋ののに心をさへものこしつるかな
| horihatenu hana koso arame aki no no ni kokoro o sae mo nokoshitsuru kana | As yet undug Flowers, indeed, may there be In the autumn meadows, for Even my heart Does linger there! |
Lord Minamoto no Yorimasa, Former Director of the Bureau of Military Storehouses
10
The Left seems a bit cliched, yet it’s not bad. As for the Right, the image of having dug up all the flowers is unsatisfying, yet it’s not worth drawing attention to when the whole sentiment is so charming, and thus the Right should win.
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 03
Round Three
Left
女郎花露もわきてやおきつらんしほれ姿のあてにも有るかな
| ominaeshi tsuyu mo wakite ya okitsuran shioresugata no ate ni mo aru kana | Upon the maidenflowers Might the dew discriminate In its falling? For its dampened form Is so fine! |
Lord Minamoto no Michiyoshi, Minor Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division
5
Right (Win)
もも草の花もあだにやおもふらんひと色ならずうつす心を
| momokusa no hana mo ada ni ya omouran hito iro narazu utsusu kokoro o | A multitude of grasses Blooms: do they play me false Should I think? For not to one hue alone Is my heart drawn… |
Kojijū, Court Lady to Her Majesty
6
The Left, by saying ‘Might the dew discriminate / In its falling?’ seems to want to describe the way that the flowers’ colours become deeper or fainter. It is not appropriate, however, to use ‘dampened form’ in this way. Furthermore, saying something ‘seems fine’ lacks elegance, doesn’t it. The Right does not lack the conception of the topic, so it should win.
