Former Emperor Yōzei, on the 15th day of the Ninth Month, when it fell upon the day of Elder Brother-Metal Monkey, held a poetry match of the Left and Right with his eldest son’s daughters, the First Princess and the Second Princess, as the leaders of the two teams, composing poems in response to prior poems on the conception of the end of autumn.
Original
つきかげのやましたまでにさやけきはよるももみぢのいろをみよとや
| tsukikage no yamashita made ni sayakeki wa yoru mo momiji no iro o miyo to ya | The moonlight To the mountains’ foot Is clear, so At night, too, the scarlet leaves’ Hues behold—I wonder if they say! |
1
Left
もみぢせぬあきのやまべのあらばこそつきのひかりをたづねてもみめ
| momiji senu aki no yamabe no araba koso tsuki no hikari o tazunete mo miyu | Should scarlet leaves be not Upon the autumn mountainside Then, surely, still The moon’s light Would I visit to see. |
2
Right
つきかげにちりぬべければ〔 〕
| tsukikage ni chirinubekereba | When within the moonlight Can have scattered |
3
