On the tenth day of the Eighth Month, Kanna 1,[1] His Majesty[2] entered the Courtiers’ Hall briefly and divided the gentlemen in attendance into teams for a poetry contest. His Majesty’s partner was Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Kintō, and he provided of the four topics. Judgements were by Koreshige.
Moon
Left (Win)
あきのよのつきにこころはあくがれてくもゐにものをおもふころかな
aki no yo no tsuki ni kokoro wa akugarete kumoi ni mono o omou koro kana
On an autumn night By the moon is my heart Entranced; Things beyond the clouds Fill my thoughts a while!
His Majesty 1
Right
いつもみるつきぞとおもへどあきのよはいかなるかげをそふるなるらん
itsumo miru tsuki zo to omoe aki no yo wa ikanaru kage o souru naruran
Every time I see The moon it fills my thoughts, but On an autumn night What light is it that Does seem to cover all?
Composed when it was said that a poetry competition was to be held at the residence of the Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber in the Ninna period.[1]
おしと思心は糸によられなん散る花ごとに貫きてとどめむ
oshi to omoFu kokoro Fa ito ni yorarenan tiru Fana goto ni nukite todomemu
If regrets Within my heart should into threads Be spun, then Through every scattered blossom Would I sew to hold them here…
Sosei
[1] It was taboo to record the personal names of noble women of high rank unless they were made empress. The Ninna 仁和 period began on the 11th day of the Third Month, 885, and lasted until the 30th day of the Fifth Month, 889. ‘Lady of the Bedchamber’ (miyasudokoro 御息所) was a title given to imperial consorts who had given birth to a prince, while ‘Middle Captain’ (chūjō 中将) was a military position in the palace guards. Contemporary readers would have been able to identify who the ‘Lady who had given birth to an imperial prince and whose father held the position of Middle Captain during the Ninna period’ was, but modern scholarship has not done so; nor have records of this poetry competition survived.