From the poetry match at Tsurayuki’s house in Tengyō 2 – The beginning of autumn.
松もなくしげき木の葉は夏ながらもみぢの色ぞ染めはじめける
| matsu mo naku shigeki no ha wa natsu nagara momiji no iro zo somehajimekeru | Not waiting at all The leaves upon the trees, so lush In summer, have With scarlet hues Begun to be dyed! |
Anonymous
Poems from a Chrysanthemum Match held by the Senior Courtier Gentlemen in the presence of His Majesty, 13th day of the Tenth Month, Engi 13.
Left
ちりはててはななきときのはななればうつろふいろのをしくもあるかな
| chirihatete hakanaki toki no hana nareba utsurou iro no oshiku mo aru kana | All scattered now, For such a brief time are These flowers here; The fading of their hues Is something I regret! |
Okikaze
1
しらくものうへにしうつるきくなればいたくをにほへはなとみるべく
| shiraku mo no uenishi utsuru kiku nareba itaku o nioe hana to mirubeku | A white cloud, Planted is this gleaming Chrysanthemum, so Bright, indeed, shining Does the bloom look to be… |
Suetada[i]
2
あきすぎてはなざかりなるきくのはないろにたぐひてあきやかへれる
| aki sugite hanazakari naru kiku no hana iro ni taguite aki ya kaereru | Autumn is past and The flowers richly blooming are Chrysanthemums: With their hues Autumn does return! |
Korenori
3
なみとのみうちこそみゆれすみのえのきしにのこれるしらぎくのはな
| nami to nomi uchi koso miyure suminoe no kishi ni nokoreru shiragiku no hana | Simply as waves Do they, indeed, appear! At Suminoe Lingering on the shore White chrysanthemum blooms. |
Korenori
4
わぎもこがひもゆふぐれのきくなればあかずぞはなのいろはみえける
| wagimoko ga hi mo yūgure no kiku nareba akazu zo hana no iro wa miekeru | My darling girl Both day and eve is As a chrysanthemum, so Never sated am I with this flower’s Hues I see. |
Korenori
5
きくのはなふゆののかぜにちりもせでけふまでとてやしもはおくらん
| kiku no hana fuyu no kaze ni chiri mo sede kyō made tote ya shimo wa okuran | Chrysanthemum blooms In the winter wind Scatter not; Is it that up to today is when Frost is said to fall? |
Korenori
6
かげさへやこよひはにほふきくのはなあまてるつきにかのそはるらん
| kage sae ya koyoi wa niou kiku no hana ama teru tsuki ni ka no sowaruran | Even their shape Fills tonight with a scented glow; Chrysanthemum blooms To the heaven-shining moon Seem to add their fragrance. |
Korenori
7
[i] Fujiwara no Suetada/Suenawa 藤原季縄 (?-919). Little is known of Suetada’s life, other than that he was apparently close to Ise 伊勢 and exchanged poems with her. The circumstances of his death, however, are recorded in Yamato monogatari, which relates that he fell ill in Engi 19 (919) when he held the position of Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division (Ukonoe shōshō右近衛少将). On a day when he was due to be in attendance at the palace, he sent a message to Minamoto no Kintada 源公忠 (889-948), a Chamberlain and the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Housekeeping, to say that illness prevented his being there. Kintada replied that he should attend without fail on the day after tomorrow, but when that day came, Suetada sent him the following poem:
くやしくぞ のちにあはむと 契りける 今日をかぎりと 言はましものを
| kuyashiku zo nochi ni awamu to chigirikeru kyō o kagiri to iwamashi mono o | I am struck with bitterness! Once more would we meet Did I vow, but Today I meet my end— That is what I would say… |
SKKS VIII: 854
Concerned, Kintada ordered up a carriage and went immediately to Suetada’s residence, only to find he had died before he arrived. Greatly downcast, he returned to the palace and reported Suetada’s death to the emperor.
Round Thirty-One
Left
露すがる庭の萩原色付きぬいかなる人の思ひそむらん
| tsuyu sugaru niwa no hagiwara irozukinu ika naru hito no omoisomuran | All clung with dew, The bush clover grove in the grounds Has taken on such hues, that I wonder who it is Might have just fallen into passion’s flames? |
Chikanari
61
Right (Win)
おく露は秋のならひの萩が枝にあまるや雁の涙なるらん
| oku tsuyu wa aki no narai no hagi ga e ni amaru ya kari no namida naruran | Dewdrops falling is Autumn’s custom for The bush clover branches, but Added to them are the goose Tears, perhaps?[1] |
Ie’kiyo
62
The Left’s poem has a person’s feelings being dyed by the bush-clover, but I cannot think why this should be? The Right’s poem seems particularly pleasant. Thus, it wins.
[1] An allusive variation on: Composed on the occasion of a poetry competition at Prince Koresada’s house. 秋の夜のつゆをばつゆとおきながらかりの涙やのべをそむらむ aki no yo no / tsuyu oba tsuyu to / okinagara / kari no namida ya / nobe o somuran ‘On Autumn nights / The dew as dewdrops / Falls, but, / Perhaps goose tears / Stain the fields?’ Mibu no Tadamine (KKS V: 258)
Round Twenty-Six
Left
秋萩の露もよすがのさがり葉も風吹きたつる色ぞ身にしむ
| akihagi no tsuyu mo yosuga no sagariba mo kaze fukitatsuru iro zo mi ni shimu | On the autumn bush clover Dewdrops rest upon The dangling leaves, Whipped up by the wind, Their hues sharply sink into my flesh. |
The Former Minister of the Centre
51
Right (Win)
さだめなき風を待つ間もうつろひぬもとあらの萩にむすぶ白露
| sadamenaki kaze o matsu ma mo utsuroinu motoara no hagi ni musubu shiratsuyu | While the unsettled Breeze they do await, Faded from The sparse bush clover have The clinging dewdrops.[1] |
Kozaishō
52
The Left poem’s ‘rest upon the dangling leaves, whipped up by the wind’ seems a novel style, and yet, even though everything about dangling leaves is contained in the Ancient and Modern, it does not sound particularly evocative. The Right lacks even a small fault and appears gorgeous, so it should win.
[1] An allusive variation on: Topic unknown. 宮木野のもとあらの小萩つゆをおもみ風をまつごと君をこそまつ miyagino no / motoara no kohagi / tsuyu o omomi / kaze o matsu goto / kimi o koso matsu ‘On Miyagi Plain / The sparse bush clover / Weighed down with dewdrops / Awaits the wind, just as / I do wait for you…’ Anonymous (KKS XIV: 694)
Round Twenty-Five
Dew on Bush Clover
Left
下葉には色なる玉やくだくらむ風の吹きしく萩の上の露
| shitaba ni wa iro naru tama ya kudakuramu kaze no fukishiku hagi no ue no tsuyu | From the underleaves Hues have the gemlets taken In their shattering? Spread by the gusting wind Are the dewdrops on the bush clover… |
A Court Lady
49
Right (Win)
又やみむ又や見ざらん白露の玉おきしける秋萩の花
| mata ya mimu mata ya mizaran shiratsuyu no tama okishikeru akihagi no hana | Will I see again, or Will I not Silver dewdrop Pearls spread upon The autumn bush clover blooms? |
Ietaka
50
The Left’s poem does not seem to have a particularly superlative style. The Right’s poem, saying ‘will I see again, or will I not silver dewdrops’ is particularly charming and moving. Thus, it wins.
Maple
はるがすみたちそめしよりいろかへてのはならしてきわかなつむべく
| harugasumi tachi someshi yori iro kaete no wa narashiteki wakana tsumubeku | Since the haze of spring Began to rise, Hues changing, Upon the plains have grown Fresh herbs that we may pick them! |
14
This poem is an acrostic, with ‘maple blossom’ (kaede no hana) contained within kaete no wa narashiteki.
Round Twelve
Left
霜枯に移ひ残る村菊はみる朝ごとにめづらしきかな
| shimogare ni utsuroinokoru muragiku wa miru asa goto ni mezurashiki kana | Burned by frost, Faded and lingering A cluster of chrysanthemums When I see them every morn Strikes me afresh! |
Lord Toshitaka
47
Right (Both Judges – Win)
置くしものなからましかば菊のはな移ふ色をけふみましやは
| oku shimo no nakaramashikaba kiku no hana utsurou iro o kyō mimashi ya wa | Fallen frost Were there none, then Chrysanthemum blooms Faded hues I would not see today… |
Lord Tamezane
48
Toshiyori states: the first poem has nothing remarkable about it, apart from the undesirable use of ‘clustered chrysanthemums’. The second poem’s sense could be that when the frost has fallen, the chrysanthemum won’t display faded hues, but it is a mistake to link frost fall and being able to see them. However, if we interpret is as meaning it has fallen, so we can then view them for a long time, well, I can understand that, and will make it the winner.
Mototoshi states: this poem has no faults, but it does not appear to be a poem suited to a poetry match—it’s just rather dull. The poem of the Right, too, lacks anything worth pointing out and just says that the poet wants to gaze upon faded hues today—this seems a bit cliched, but I’d say it’s superior.
