Asters and the Same
Round Seventeen
Left
あふことは片野ののべの蘭たれきてみよと露のおくらん
| au koto wa katano no nobe no fujibakama tare kitemiyo to tsuyu no okuran | Our meeting, so hard: In the hillside meadows grow Violet asters— Who should to come to see them Amongst the fallen dew? |
Nakafusa, Former Governor of Awaji
33
Right
色もかもよそへてぞみる蘭ねずりの衣馴れしかたみに
| iro mo ka mo yosoete zo miru fujibakama nezuri no koromo nareshi katami ni | Both scent and hue Do I imagine seeing Among the violet asters, Of his patterned robe, So familiar, a reminder they are… |
Hyōenokami
34
These poems, both Left and Right, appear to be of about the same quality, but while I am familiar with robes patterned with purple gromwell, I do wonder what it is that is patterning the robes here. Is the poet composing on asters imagining them to be gromwell? Even if that’s the case, the conception is not particularly apparent, so I have to say that the Left is better.
Round Nine
Left
忍びねを我が袖のみと思ひしを劣らざりけり萩の下露
| shinobine o wa ga sode nomi to omoishi o otorazarikeri hagi no shitazuyu | Secretly Upon my sleeves, alone, I thought, but ‘Twas not lesser than The dewfall ‘neath the bush clover. |
Minor Captain Kin’nori, Fourth Rank
17
Right
色かはる萩の下葉の露けさは我が身のうへと成りにけるかな
| iro kawaru hagi no shitaba no tsuyukesa wa wa ga mi no ue to narinikeru kana | A change of hue To the bush clover’s underleaves Drenched with dew— Upon my sorry self Has it befallen, too! |
Tadasue, Senior Assistant Minister of the Sovereign’s Household
18
The image of the droplets of secretly wept upon the poet’s sleeves not being less than those of the dewdrops beneath the bush clover appears extremely charming and moving. In addition, the pain expressed by one’s sorry self being as dew-drenched as the bush clover’s underleaves—this has left my own sleeves, both left and right, seeming as soaked with dewdrops from the bush clover.
Round Twenty-Eight
Left
故郷の萩の下葉も色づきぬ露のみふかき秋のうらみに
| furusato no hagi no shitaba mo irozukinu tsuyu nomi fukaki aki no urami ni | In this old, familiar place The bush clover’s underleaves, too, Have changed their hue— Only the dew is deep As autumn’s misery…[1] |
Dōchin
55
Right (Win)
白露の玉ぬきみだる萩が枝に涙かずそふ秋の夕暮
| shiratsuyu no tama nukimidaru hagi ga e ni namida kazusou aki no yūgure | Silver dewdrop Pearls are strung in tangles on The bush clover’s branches— Innumerable tears added On an autumn evening… |
Dharma Master Nyokan
56
Left and Right both have a refined style, yet the Right has a better tone and sounds elegant. Thus, it wins.
[1] An allusive variation on: 比日之 暁露丹 吾屋前之 芽子乃下葉者 色付尓家里 kono koro no / akatoki tsuyu ni / wa ga yado no / hagi no shitaba wa / irozukinikeri ‘Around thus time near / Dawn, the dewfall on / My dwelling’s / Bush clover underleaves / Has changed their hue!’ Anonymous (MYS X: 2182)
Round Eleven
Left (Both Judges – Tie)
こけのむす岩ねに残る八重ぎくはや千代さくとも君ぞみるべき
| koke no musu iwane ni nokoru yaegiku wa yachiyo saku tomo kimi zo mirubeki | Choked with moss are The crags where linger Eightfold chrysanthemums: E’en were they eight thousand ages a’bloom My Lord would have beheld them, no doubt! |
Lady Shinano
45
Right
霜がれに我ひとりとや白菊の色をかへても人にみすらん
| shimogare ni ware hitori to ya shiragiku no iro o kaetemo hito ni misuran | ‘Burned by frost ‘Tis me alone!’ thinks A white chrysanthemum, Changing hue To show to folk, for sure. |
Lord Tokimasa
46
Toshiyori states: I wonder if there is a poem as precedent for chrysanthemums lingering beneath moss-covered crags? If not, it’s a very crude expression. The ending of the poem is antiquated, too. As for the second poem ‘“Tis me alone!” thinks’ does not sound satisfactory. The assembled company settled the matter of the final ‘folk’, so I must make this a tie.
Mototoshi states: whether they are placed by a brushwood fence, or at the base of a crag, chrysanthemums feel like pines. As for the Right, having a chrysanthemum seem to think ‘‘tis me alone’ is speculative—had it been something like ‘this bloom opens’ then it would have been the poet’s thoughts. Neither of these is of quality to win or lose, so I make them a tie.
