Composed on the conception of the essential nature of things.
神といひ仏といふも世中の人の心のほかのものかは
| kami to ii hotoke to iu mo yo no naka no hito no kokoro no hoka no mono ka wa | What we call God, and What we call Buddha, too— In this mundane world ‘Tis in the human heart that They are and nowhere else, aren’t they? |
654
When the courtiers were commanded to hold an autumn leaves match, during the reign of the Murakami emperor.
思ひやるくらぶの山の紅葉ばにおとらぬ物はこころなりけり
| omoiyaru kurabu no yama no momijiba ni otoranu mono wa kokoro narikeri | Pondering, To compare Mount Kurabu’s Scarlet leaves— Only not lesser is My heart… |
Motosuke-shū 1[i]
[i] This poem is not included the extant texts of the match, but from its headnote must have been composed for it and been subsequently lost among with the others.
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’.
When I made a pilgrimage to Hashiriyu Mountain.[i]
わたつ海のなかにむかひていづるゆのいづのお山とむべもいひけり
| watatsumi no naka ni mukaite izuru yu no izu no oyama to mube mo iikeri | To the broad sea sweep’s Heart turning, where Hot waters gush on The mount of Izu— Indeed they do![ii] |
641
[i] Hashiriyu Mountain (hashiriyusan 走湯山), which literally means the ‘mountain where hot water runs’, was a sobriquet applied to Izusan Shrine (Izusan jinja 伊豆山神社) in Izu province (modern Shizuoka). The shrine had a close relationship with the Kamakura shogunate, as Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147-1199), the first shogun, prayed there for the revival of the clan’s fortunes.
[ii] Sanetomo builds his poem around a play on words which is impossible to replicate in translation, in that izu(ru) 出づ（る） (‘gush (out)’) echoes the place name Izu 伊豆, so a closer paraphrase of the poem’s meaning is ‘Hot water gushes out [izu] at the mountain called “gushes” [izu], which is no surprise, is it!’
Original
おとにのみききわたりつるあきのよのながさをひとりねてぞしりぬる
| oto ni nomi kikiwataritsuru aki no yo no nagasa o hitori nete zo shirinuru | By word alone Had I heard of Autumn nights’ Length, but alone and Sleeping did I understand it! |
42
Left (Win)
あきのよのながきにそへてねざめつつつきせぬものをおもふころかな
| aki no yo no nagaki ni soete nezametsutsu tsukisenu mono o omou koro kana | To an autumn night’s Length, add Being awake, then Inexhaustible is the gloom Filling your thoughts! |
43
Right
ひとりねであかぬときにもあきのよのながきこころをしらぬものかは
| hitori nede akanu toki ni mo aki no yo no nagaki kokoro o shiranu mono ka wa | Sleepless alone When unsatisfied, too, An autumn night’s Length, the heart Knows well, doesn’t it! |
44
Original
あきやまにこころをのみもいるるかなもみぢのいろのふかきまにまに
| akiyama ni kokoro o nomi mo iruru kana momiji no iro no fukaki manimani | By the autumn mountains My heart, too, is simply Drawn within! While the hues of scarlet leaves Are so deep… |
27
Left
あきやまにいらんこころはなごりなくひとにやみえむもみぢちりなば
| akiyama ni iran kokoro wa nagori naku hito ni yamiemu momiji chirinaba | By the autumn mountains Drawn—such a heart Might leave no trace And such a one might cease to be, Should the scarlet leaves all scatter… |
28
Right
もみぢするあきにこころのいるひとやあだなることをまづはしるらむ
| momijisuru aki ni kokoro no iru hito ya adanaru koto o mazu wa shiruramu | Scarlet the leaves turn In autumn—one with a heart So drawn, that ‘Tis fleeting Should know first of all! |
29
A single poem presented in reply by Prince Toneri.
安之比奇能 山尓由伎家牟 夜麻妣等能 情母之良受 山人夜多礼
あしひきの やまにゆきけむ やまびとの こころもしらず やまびとやたれ
| asipiki no yama ni yukikemu yamabito no kokoro mo shirazu yamabito ya tare | To the leg-wearying Mountains seeming to have gone An immortal’s Heart I cannot know, but Who might that immortal be? |
Round Nine
Left – Spring Snow (Win)
はなならでをらまほしきはなにはえのあしのわかばにふれるしらゆき
| hana narade oramahoshiki wa naniwae no ashi no wakaba ni fureru shirayuki | Though they are not blossoms How I long to pick At Naniwa Inlet From the new-grown reed tips Fallen snowflakes. |
Norinaga’s Wife
17
Right – Chrysanthemums
むらさきのふかからざりし秋だにもきくはこころにしめてしものを
| murasaki no fukakarazarishi aki dani mo kiku wa kokoro ni shimeteshi mono o | Their violet Was not that deep In autumn, but even so The chrysanthemums, my heart Did pierce… |
The Minister of Public Affairs
18
Original
ひとこふるこころはそらにかよへばやそらもなみだもともにしぐるる
| hito kouru kokoro wa sora ni kayoeba ya sora mo namida mo tomo ni shigururu | Yearning for him, does My heart into the skies And back fly? The skies and my tears, Both, are naught but showers… |
18
Left
ひとこふるこころはそらもなきものをいづこよりふるしぐれなるらむ
| hito kouru kokoro wa sora mo naki mono o izuko yori furu shigure naruramu | Yearning for him, My heart within the skies Is not, so Where is it that these falling Showers might be from? |
19
Right
おほかたのものおもふときにしぐるるをあきのそらとはみゆるなるらん
| ōkata no mono’omou toki ni shigururu o aki no sora to wa miyuru naruran | In general When sunk in gloomy thought, Showers fall— How like the autumn skies It does seem… |
20
